JERSEY CITY — A West Side Avenue supermarket was shut down by the city last week after health inspectors say they compiled the longest list of health code violations they have seen in recent memory.

The operators of Fine Fare are accused of selling expired baby formula and nearly three blocks of cheese that expired in 2017, using a deli slicer that appeared not to have been cleaned regularly, not removing black mold and more.

It’s not clear when the grocery store will be allowed to open again, but health officials say they plan to reinspect it on Wednesday and want it reopened as soon as possible.

Fine Fare’s owners, meanwhile, fear they are the victims of retaliation for opposing a new commercial tax approved by the council in December, a claim the city denies.

The complaint that led the city to close the market came on Thursday afternoon, city officials told The Jersey Journal. A woman tried to return bologna that was green but was rebuffed by a store worker who told her the pack of meat may still be good, according to Happy Boor, director of inspections for the city health department.

A health inspector visited the supermarket Friday — “We did the store from top to bottom,” Boor said — and then filed a report that includes eight pages of comments. The city ordered the market shut down that day.

Reached by phone on Monday, Fine Fare co-owner Ali Ayesh downplayed the closure and said he hoped to reopen on Tuesday.

"Just a water leak downstairs that we’ve got to fix,” Ayesh said.

Ayesh called later to say he wondered whether his and his brother’s opposition to the new West Side special improvement district — paid for a by a new tax on commercial properties — led to the closure. Stacey Lea Flanagan, the city’s health director, told The Jersey Journal the shopper complaint led to the shutdown.

“We believe that every person deserves the highest quality food possible,” she said. “Some people look at this as punitive but it’s really a protective measure to protect the health and safety of a lot of our residents."

Fine Fare was last inspected by health officials last year, Boor said.

An earlier version of this story should have said the last health inspection at Fine Fare was last year.

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.