Jim Hare classic posts Archives

Organic food supply

Hi Walt et.al.,

I forwarded Vince’s post about imported organic food from China, to
the Whole Food Market. Although the response is a “form letter”, it
was personalized with specific mention of China. I don’t know if they
keep statistics and pass them along to management about the
specific nature of inquiries.

My intuition tells me WFM is well intentioned and decent as a whole,
but much of the chain of supply is out of their hands. They have
partnered with other businesses and certifying bodies worldwide.
Knowing the tendency to greed in human nature, who knows what
shady deals affect our meals.

Key words tell me that the process can only be controlled to a certain
extent. For instance:

“Our ‘team’ of skilled buyers and auditors…” Team? That word, in the
context of other statements in the letter reveal the use of agents who
are not employees, and the loyalty factor is therefore less. Greed and
anonymity are passionate bedfellows.

“must be monitored and inspected by a USDA-accredited certifying
agent…” Not a USDA agent, but an “accredited” one. Another step
removed from familiarity.

“a full audit of our vendors' organic certification documentation…”
Notice they audit not the product, but the documentation. The
documentation is just paper, not the food. Anyone can put anything
on paper.

Our suspicions are due partly to cultural bias, and how justified is it
in light of recent news about spinach and lettuce? As usual you can
find money at the bottom of it. In that way our suspicions are well
founded.

But WFM is probably doing the best they can in an imperfect world. (I
don’t own stock), and I have attached their reply for your curiosity
and education (I learned a new word, “brix”).

* * * * * * * *

Hello Jim,

At Whole Foods Market, we have been committed to supporting
organic agriculture for more than 25 years and we go to great lengths
to offer our shoppers the highest quality foods from responsible,
reliable sources. You will find an abundance of fresh, locally grown -
and often organic - fruits and vegetables at our stores as well as
quality products from around the world.

To complement our offering of fresh fruits and vegetables, we also
offer a wide variety in the frozen category under our private label
brands.

Until recently, we only sourced frozen fruits and vegetables from U.S.
growers. However, our primary challenge at this time is that the
demand for organically grown fruits and vegetables is far outpacing
the
U.S.-grown supply. Many organic growers are selling their crops on
the fresh market, leaving very little product for the frozen market.
Prices for that limited frozen supply are skyrocketing. This has
caused a lack of availability and, due to our strict quality standards
for size, color, cut and brix (sweetness), the challenge to find product
that suits us only increases. Some items simply aren't grown in the
U.S., and limiting our sourcing prevents us from offering a
competitive and wide selection.

Therefore, we recently expanded the geographical area where we
seek products and we now work with vendor partners both in the
United States and in other countries as well. Our team of skilled
buyers and auditors personally visit all farms and facilities. In fact, in
the case of Chinese-grown products, the team found the quality of
the organic fruits and vegetables equaled or surpassed the quality
and availability of items sourced in the United States.

U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations require that all products
sold as organic in the United States be certified to the U.S. National
Organic Standards regardless of where the crop is grown. This means
that a crop that is grown organically in China for export to the United
States must be monitored and inspected by a USDA-accredited
certifying agent and is subject to the same monitoring as an organic
crop in the United States. Rest assured that Whole Foods Market
verifies the organic certification of all growers of our organic
products, and our own organic certification by Quality Assurance
International includes a full audit of our vendors' organic certification
documentation regardless of where the product is grown.

We are certainly aware of other concerns - such as energy and
resources used for transportation - that might arise as a result of
sourcing outside the United States. The simple fact is that, if we are
to offer consistently high quality fruits and vegetables at a
competitive price, we must source these items outside the United
States at this time. We also strive to offer our shoppers choices -
such as fresh produce all labeled with country-of-origin information
- to make purchases that are right for them.

As with all commodity products, our buyers continually evaluate crop
sources to ensure we are always sourcing the best quality foods at
the best price. We would love to see larger U.S.-grown supply of
organics available for the frozen market but that cannot happen
overnight. We hope and expect that as the demand for organic foods
continues to grow that more U.S. growers will turn to organic
agriculture, thus increasing the supply available.

Thank you for expressing your concerns.

Sincerely,

Jessie Walker
Customer Communications Specialist
Global Communications Team
Whole Foods Market/ Austin, Texas
512-542-0670

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-----Original Message-----
From: Website Comments [jimhare@cox.net]
Sent: Saturday, October 07, 2006 8:58 AM
To: Customer Questions (CE CEN)
Subject: Concerns or issues about WFM policies. (San Diego, CA
(Hillcrest))

Subject: Concerns or issues about WFM policies.
Store: San Diego, CA (Hillcrest)

From:

Jim Hare
702-219-7237

E-Mail: jimhare@cox.net

Product:

Comments:

Business Week Weekend on TV had a story on about organic food.
They said a lot is coming from China, and they still use DDT there,
and human waste to fertilize. It is supposed to be tested by the USDA,
but one consultant said, that US laws being followed in China was a
joke. Japan had recieved organic foods from China with pesticides in
it.

What is WFM's policy and practice on food from China?

Jim Hare

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