Whole Foods' "Organic" products grown in China!

Hi everyone,

I came across this video today done by an investigative local news team. The team looked into several of the products sold under the 365 Organic brand at Whole Foods stores. Well as it turns out, many of these products are not "Locally Grown" as Whole Foods might lead you to believe. Several items clearly state that they are products of China.

In the U.S., the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) must approve all organic food before it is allowed to display the UDSA Organic seal. The USDA, however, only inspects organic foods grown within the U.S., and does not regulate any food imported from other countries.

Upon further investigation, Whole Foods relies on a private third party organization called Quality Assurance International to verify the "organic" nature of their food products. But a statement from the company states, "QAI has not certified any products in China". They rely on yet another certifier local to the Chinese farms to verify whether or not true organic farming procedures are being practiced. So the question is, how do we know the standards accepted in China, and how reliable are these private companies at keeping tabs on organic farming techniques?

Believe it or not, on the back of every one of these "Product of China" organic food packages is both the USDA Organic seal, as well as the Quality Assurance International Certified Organic seal.

So now, in addition to all the other questionable benefits of organic foods, comes the greatest sham of them all! Most of the organic food you buy might not even BE organic! If you really want organic foods, stick to local farmers markets and stay away from places like Whole Foods.



[edit on 3-3-2010 by paradigm619]

Yet another reason to read the label before you cram it into your consume-hole.

Second Line

[edit on 3-3-2010 by Loki]

Nothing says organic like burning thousands of gallons of petroleum based fuels shipping your product half way around the globe.

S & F for you

Most of us will never see a 'space alien' or uncover the secrets of Denver airport or Area 51

BUT --- many of us may be adversely affected by imported foods

The ramifications of all you've taken the time and trouble to present here in this thread are staggering

Thank you

reply to post by paradigm619


Nice expose. Dr. John E. Peck mentions this China "organics" uncertified labeling scam -- along with the other mega-scams in agribusiness:

www.youtube.com...

www.youtube.com...

Truly sad news if true.

I worked with a man who's family raised bison in Montana. Their biggest customer was Whole Foods who would send inspectors out every 3 months for inspections - quite rigorous inspections from the sound of it. His family's biggest fear was that they would find something out of sorts, meaning a single violation could cause them to find another supplier.

Sad what growth can do to a business's standards.

Good thing i only go to whole foods for the beer and produce... I gotta say this is rather scummy and not something i would expect from them. But i guess power corrupts.

Don't just buy local products, buy from local merchants. Keeping the system small by our actions is the only way it will gain strength. This is not a political or economic ideal, this is simply the way things are.
Cheers.

reply to post by paradigm619

I don't know man... That company spends a hell of a lot of money to ensure quality.
A friend of mine who worked with the company had to go to the slaughterhouse to ensure
the cows were polished in a decent matter. She claimed they had it down to a science and
would bolt the cows in the brain while they distracted em. Point is they spend money to
document the source producers of products, down to pre/after death conditions for
the once living animal. Also the USDA has horrible standards for "organic", the standard
is much lower than one would think, in fact WF was in opposition because some of the USDA proposals were laughable.

My $.02

reply to post by Janky Red


I'm not doubting that the Whole Foods organization itself has high standards for matters that it investigates itself. My point is that they are three generations away from the people who are investigating their products that originate in China.

That being said, I have no proof that the standards used in China are any less stringent than those used in this country. I simply have first hand experience with how delegation of tasks and bureaucracy can tear apart any semblance of integrity, and the fact that the Whole Foods organization is seemingly so far separated from the organic review process in this region of the world makes me suspicious.

Ok, its really late where I am, so I'll make this brief.

I am a Whole Foods employee. I am not speaking for the company, just myself and from my experience. I did not watch the video, but this immediately struck me as a hit-piece against Whole Foods by the other competitors and/or miserable people. Before everyone goes jumping on the Hate-Whole-Foods-bandwagon, I'd like to ask a few questions.

Do you think ALL of our 365 organic brand products come from China?
I'm guessing, and assuming, maybe there's a few. I'd be willing to put down money that if enough people make a stink and bring it to the right person's attention, this sillyness could be fixed.

Do you know there's a difference between "365 brand" items and "Locally Grown" products?
Usually they are marked as "365 Organic or All Natural" or "Locally Grown".
Just because you buy "Organic" doesn't mean you are buying "Local".

Do you think other grocery stores work with and support local farming and vendors like Whole Foods?

Do you think other grocery stores give back to the community as much as we do?

Care about the environment as much as we do?

Whoever said something about all the petrol burned to ship those goods here.. Look around you, I can GUARANTEE there's at least 10 things in your room that's made in China.

I think everyone needs to take a chill pill and understand that Whole Foods isn't perfect, but we are trying. We're definitely not the bad-guy!

Just my 2cents, PEACES!

[edit on 3/4/10 by aecreate]

I noticed this story is from May 2008. I wonder if things have changed at whole foods.

[edit on 4-3-2010 by dieterhund]

This has less to do with Whole Foods and more to do with the poor/non-existent laws concerning organic products. It's too bad that the reporter attacks Whole Foods instead of focusing on the real issue at hand; why the FDA refuses to create more truthful labeling laws for all food products.

A word to the wise, any organic product that is not labeled as 100% organic can have a certain percentage of conventionally grown ingredients.

I do have friends that work or have worked for Whole Foods and that company treats their employees very well, but I still say shop your local co-ops.

Well said, aecreate.

I would add, however, that using farmer's markets and local sellers is also a very good idea, but at least where I live they are extremely seasonal. Whole foods does a great job of being a "super-farmer's-market the rest of the time.

Personally, I buy nothing from China, and I try to buy as little from Asia as possible due to the extremely unreliable nature of environmental and safety laws there. I judge products based on how "local" they are. My town, then my state, then my country, then my continent, then my hemisphere, then the rest.

yuck, I ate the 365 organics spaghetti sauce. It tasted like dirt and I found stem pieces mixed in with the sauce. Ragu is much better quality than this.

I will not buy ANY of the 365 organics products after that.

reply to post by aecreate


You bring up a very good point. My intention with this thread was not to specifically target and bring down Whole Foods. You're right, as most big-box grocery stores go, they are not the enemy. This thread was mostly intended to bring to light the bigger issues regarding classification and verification of organic food and that when something is labeled organic it may not necessarily mean what we, as consumers, have been trained to think it means.

Hey dear, its not true in case of New Zealand. Here i get my organic proucts from providers named as "wise cicada". and they sell locally grown food. However organic food means natural and healthy, if you are eating food that have to travel from overseas and its not fresh then its better to eat ordinary fresh food. But not all organic products are grown in china. Its also grow locally.

reply to post by paradigm619