Why it matters:
Because if Whole Foods is selling products carrying a “certified organic” label, those products should be certified organic.
Recap:
According to Washington D.C.’s ABC affiliate WJLA, Whole Foods may have some ’splainin’ to do.
The expose is just another in a growing list of charges being leveled at Whole Foods, which has become the supermarket mecca for health nuts and greenies. In the past, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey has come under fire for his stances on healthcare reform and climate change. This time the target is the store’s proprietary line of 365 Organic frozen vegetables.
The charges are these. 365 Organic frozen vegetables… are from China. Even the, *GASP* “California Blend” of broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower. Okay, not a crime. but there are some legitimate concerns. Coming as it does, on the heels of several scandals related to food coming out of China, the WJLA piece asks one very important question, how can vegetables coming from China be certified organic? The packaging carries three relevant bits of labeling.
1. “USDA Certified Organic” (a label with problems of its own)
2. “QAI Certified Organic”
3. Product of China.
According to the report, the USDA does not directly certify imported vegetables. BUT it does authorize 3rd party organizations to do so– in this case, Quality Assurance International (QAI). HOWEVER, correspondence between WJLA and QAI revealed that QAI had “not certified any products from China,” but instead relies on ANOTHER certifier on the farms.
Commentary:
So, uh, what exactly is going on here? At worst, Whole Foods is egregiously and consciously mislabeling their products as certified organic. At the very least it would seem Whole Foods is the beneficiary of labeling loopholes.
Or are they? After refusing to be interviewed for the WJLA piece, Whole Foods issued this response on their blog (Whole Foods has a blog?). Ultimately both the WJLA piece and the Whole Foods rebuttal, hinge on the validity of QAI’s certification process. But if QAI is able to certify products through “another certifier on the farms”, that process is certainly suspect.
Despite Mackey and company’s dubious reputation in the green world, the WJLA piece isn’t exactly a smoking gun. For starters I can’t believe that anyone, except for dramatic effect, would assume their “California Blend” veggies came from California. I’m fairly certain my English muffins aren’t from England, and I know for a fact my French dressing isn’t from France (no, I don’t really use French dressing). Furthermore, there’s nothing to say that QAI isn’t diligent about what is, in effect, their FOURTH party certifiers.
But it does raise questions. And it seems the only way to verify if your organic vegetables are truly organic is to…
Creative Solutions:
- Research the USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP)
- Join an organic CSA
- Interact with your food, buy from your local organic farmers
- Grow your own fruits and vegetables
…. and many of the certified organic ad non-certified organic food ingredients used in processed (pet) foods come from China as well… even simple ones such as carrot powder…. They are much cheaper than those ‘grown in the US’ … and that despite the cost of transportation. Just how can that be (?)…
Your remarks and the video from 2008 that you reference bring up an important issue that many consumers may be unaware of: any product sold as organic in the U.S. must meet U.S. organic standards regardless of where it is grown and processed. This means that whether an organic product is grown in the U.S., China, Australia, or any other country around the world, when it is sold as organic here in the U.S., it must be grown without the use of toxic and synthetic pesticides, synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, synthetic growth hormones, genetic engineering, irradiation, or sewage sludge.
It’s also important for consumers to be aware of the fact that there are systems in place to ensure that products bearing the USDA organic label are grown and processed in a manner that they can trust. For example, U.S. organic standards require rigorous announced and unannounced third-party inspections of organic operations. These standards also require that organic producers and processors develop and follow an organic systems plan, which enables inspectors and consumers alike to trace organic products from the farm to their families. In addition, organic standards require that organic inspectors themselves be accredited and audited to ensure that the facilities they certify indeed meet the rigorous organic standards that consumers have come to know and trust.
Hi, Libba Letton with Whole Foods Market here. I’m not sure why, but this WJLA story, which aired almost two years ago in May 2008, is circulating on the internet again. The story is full of errors and incorrect assumptions, which we address, point by point, here: http://blog.wholefoodsmarket.com/whole-foods-market-responds-to-wjla/.
Libba,
Just to be clear, and in the interest of fairness, the Whole Foods response was included in the article (2nd paragraph, “Commentary” section). And frankly, I don’t think the issue of QAI’s FOURTH party certifier was sufficiently addressed.
Please reread the “Commentary” section very carefully. To reiterate: In the US, the USDA inspects organic operations directly. In China, the USDA relies on QAI whom, in turn, relies on a YET ANOTHER certifier. Again, this does not assume that there is a problem, but only that there are greater opportunities for a breakdown of the system. Simply put, Whole Foods could alleviate these concerns (and reduce their carbon footprint) if they were to source their veggies from the US.
Libba, thank you for your comment. We would like to do an interview with you about the processes and assurances that Whole Foods markets go through to ensure the quality of their products and accuracy of their labeling. Of course we’re a bit biased as we all do shop at WF despite Mackey’s absurd commentary. Regardless, thank you for your comments and we look forward to hearing your response to the issues around QAI and sourcing from the US.
Scott Badenoch
Editor in Chief, EcoMatters
scott@creativecitizen.com
Right now I want to call out Kevin McCann on some bad reporting… Kevin McCann and the ABC I news team. You clearly know nothing about the organic certification systems in the US or around the world – so why are you commenting on them?
Let’s review the false statements:
“At worst, Whole Foods is egregiously and consciously mislabeling their products as certified organic”
No – in fact they are following the letter of the law – one that was publicly commented and hailed by organic consumers when it was published. This law states that a product grown according to the rules that was certified by a third party USDA accredited certifier can be labeled as organic. I hate to break it to you, but the same third party certifiers that operate abroad also certify the domestic crops. Additionally, the organic certifiers in the US will not always certify the other chain, but rely on other USDA accredited certifiers to do so, as it is prescribed in the law. AND HOW ORGANIC CERTIFICATION HAS ALWAYS WORKED. Do some research, get your facts straight. This is embarrassing.
#2 “Ultimately both the WJLA piece and the Whole Foods rebuttal, hinge on the validity of QAI’s certification process. But if QAI is able to certify products through “another certifier on the farms”, that process is certainly suspect.”
Actually no its not. This is how the one up, one down process works, read the law. While this process is the same domestically as it is internationally, let me ask you a question, why would you want to send someone from San Diego, CA (where QAI is located) to somewhere in China to inspect the crops…. I would suspect that you could easily train on the ground inspectors in China that not only speak and read the language but understand the culture and farming practice intimately to do a better job. Oh wait, that’s how the process does and is meant to work. Sorry, Kevin, we aren’t all as xenophobic as you.
#3 I love this one – in the comments sections Kevin reiterates a point that is not true “To reiterate: In the US, the USDA inspects organic operations directly.”
WRONG. Take your own advice – Research the USDA NOP website – maybe you’d find this:
http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELDEV3004346&acct=nopgeninfo
Or how about this: http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?template=TemplateJ&navID=ACAsLinkNOPAQSSQuestions&rightNav1=ACAsLinkNOPAQSSQuestions&topNav=&leftNav=NationalOrganicProgram&page=NOPACAs&resultType=&acct=nopgeninfo
Why would you have “Domestic Accredited Certifying Agents” if they did do the worked domestically??? Please let me know. Names like “California Certified Organic Farmers” and “Oregon Tilth” – sure sound domestic and not much like the “United States Department of Agriculture”.
As a closing note, calling your China sourced vegetables “California Blend” is very bad form and misleading to the customers. Shame on Whole Foods – I hope the FTC goes after them. But, is this related to organics – no – not at all.
Disclaimer – I wrote this in a bit of a rage against ignorance. Please excuse the grammatical mistakes I am sure litter this piece.
Is it just me or does organiknowledge’s comments on the subject seem a little bit too enraged just to be a person concerned with “bad reporting”. It sounds more like someone who has some sort of personal (or financial) ties to Whole Foods. The point is, if you know for a fact that Whole Foods is in the right and have the proof to back it up, why on earth would you have any reason to be enraged.
Note to organiknowledge – people will probably have an easier time trusting your knowledge on the subject if you leave your emotions out of your argument.
Kiwilady – you are correct I am enrarged. I work in the organic food field – but not for Whole Foods. I do wish I had finicial ties to Whole Foods.
Whole Foods does back up their claim, read their link. My problem is with Mr McCann’s faux reporting. He states “To reiterate: In the US, the USDA inspects organic operations directly.” This is completely untrue – you can call the NOP tomorrow and ask them yourself – the number is (202) 720-3252.
Lastly, as long as you can read – you dont needs to trust me. Thats the power of facts – go to the source. All my links go back to the USDA NOP – the regulatory authority in the US for the term “organic.”
Have fun poking at my passion – cause you wont find holes in the facts.
It seems to me that OrganiKnowledge misses on most of his points. OK about saying that the USDA does not directly inspect. However, I am quite suspicious of products coming from China, no matter what the claims, and they also entail a good deal of fuel use which is not favorable to global climate change issues. Lastly, Whole Foods costs are quite high, and I would like to know how they are justifying that. I will make separate points here:
1) Wanting to avoid dealing with China for produce is not “xenophobia”. In just the last year or so they have had lead in toothpaste, artificially pumped-up milk that was dangerous, poison in their pet foods, and other scandals. Whatever regulatory system China may claim to have, they are known for widespread corruption at the provincial levels, and have, for example, no respect for international copyright laws. In other words, it is a culture of rapid growth at all costs, including cutting corners on school buildings so they unnecessarily collapsed in the recent earthquake, killing thousands of children while other surrounding buildings remained standing. Why should Americans believe that we will get the same quality of goods out of China as here in the USA? In the USA (and Europe, for example) we know many of the organic farmers are truly dedicated to quality, as well as feeling a need to comply with inspections. This is not xenophobia, but a history of reckless actions that China has repeatedly demonstrated. Some of this is just barely starting to change at the central government level, but by no means has this penetrated their overall way of doing business.
2) supporting local agriculture is the model for the future. Use of transportation fuel depletes that resource more rapidly than needed so we may have a shortage before alternatives are available. It also creates more greenhouse gases which hopefully we have all heard about. Last but not least, local agriculture builds stronger communities and helps decentralize corporate control over the agricultural system, with its many downsides (GMO domination, loss of small farm skills, monocultures, and much more)
3) I am lucky enough to have a store not to far called Queens Health Emporium. Nearly ALL their produce and products are certified organic, not just a fraction as in Whole Foods. And their prices are significantly below those at Whole Foods. I have no economic interest in any of these. Now, I do understand that Whole Foods is operating on a large scale, but I would like to see much more transparency and numbers showing their effort to stimulate and buy from organic farmers and suppliers here in the United States. I also wonder about their prices being so high due to their being a public corporation since 1992. For many in the US, there are probably no alternative large supermarkets with a mix of organic products, so Whole Foods serves a valuable role. However, it would be good for them to remember the roots of organic food, social responsibility, and competitive pricing. I do object to the focus by organiknowledge on following of the law. For me, that is only the beginning, although a good beginning. It is not good enough for a business that would truly hope to inspire its clients with good and RELIABLE products, and with good ethical actions beyond the minimum required by law.
Interesting news piece…but there are several problems. I’m skeptical of a news team who’s trying to make it seem reprehensible that “California blend” vegetables weren’t grown in California…that is a common term to describe that particular variety of vegetables and has nothing to do with their origin. If they can’t manage to research that much, I dare bet the rest of what the say is up for question. In fact, I’d encourage you to read Whole Foods’ response to this report which raises issue with a lot of the report’s contents. http://blog.wholefoodsmarket.com/whole-foods-market-responds-to-wjla/
My biggest issue with this report is that it originally aired 2 years ago. That means Whole Foods has had a long time to change this….and I dare bet they have. We have a lot of WF products and 365 store brand products in our house. I just pulled out several packages of frozen organic fruit and veggies from the freezer…all listed as products of the USA. I also pulled out the cans and jars of 365 organic products from our cabinet, and all are listed as products of the USA except for the agave nectar which is from Mexico…though I’m not sure that the plant is native to the US. I’d also like to mention that the “Product of” line still appears in tiny print on the back of the package, so I think that rules out they “they are trying to hide that the origin was China” theory.
The thing is…having looked into the concepts of natural vs. organic and knowing what I do about the little that the USDA and FDA do to regulate food these days, I’m not much more confident in organic US products than any other country’s organic products. I often wonder if what I buy is actually organic when it’s labeled as such…which is why I prefer to buy produce at a farmer’s market where I can talk to them about their processes and procedures. But since I’m not going to find a local farmer to buy my grapes from, I’m going to have to settle for the red grapes from Chile because that happens to be where they are in season. And it’s also notable that in the FRESH produce section of Whole Foods, the origin of all the veggies and fruits is prominently listed on the stickers, packages or price signs…and several come from out of the country…but no one can claim they are trying to hide it.
I see that this 2 year old video is now being recirculated on the web as if it was current which I find to be lazy and misrepresentative reporting. I certainly don’t think that Whole Foods is infallible, but I will continue to shop there because I feel like they are, at the very least, the lesser of several evils.