Best Rated Supermarkets

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Do you love or hate your supermarket? A lot may depend on how fresh it seems, according to a Consumer Reports survey. And the survey shows that some supermarkets deliver much fresher food than others.

Americans average 83 trips a year to the supermarket, spending a total of $5,400. More than half that money is going for fresh food found around the perimeter of the store - produce, meat, bread, and ready-to-eat food. Consumer Reports rated 68 supermarkets across the country on the quality of their fresh food based on a survey of nearly 63,000 of its readers. Tod Marks of Consumer Reports explained, "We asked about the quality of fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, store-prepared foods, and baked goods, as well as things like cleanliness, staff courtesy, and prices."

Only about 60% of shoppers say they're highly satisfied with the quality of their store's poultry and meat. And only half are happy with their store's prepared-food and bakery options. Walmart Supercenter, the biggest grocery store in the country, scored near the bottom of the ratings. People gave Walmart low marks in all freshness categories. "Walmart also didn't do so well for its courteous staff and store cleanliness. It did score better than many chains for its prices, but it wasn't the best for price," said Marks.

Consumer Reports contacted Walmart for a comment and was given a statement from the CEO, which said in part: "Every store i go in has room to improve ... and if we nail those, one store at a time, our short-term performance gets better." Consumer Reports' top-scoring supermarkets include several regional stores as well as Trader Joe's and Costco, which both got better ratings than Walmart for prices.

In addition to Trader Joe's and Costco, Raley's, Sprouts, Winco, and Whole Foods were also highly rated. Food 4 Less, Savemart, Target, Sam's Club and Vons were towards the middle of the rankings.

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