Advertisement
ONALASKA, Wis. — Wal-Mart has begun offering hundreds of organic items alongside its conventional grocery products.
But that “Wal-Mart Organics” sign on the store shelf doesn’t always mean the product is organic, critics claim.
Friday, a Wisconsin-based organic food watchdog group filed a complaint against Wal-Mart with the state’s Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
The Cornucopia Institute, a progressive farm and food policy research group, contends Wal-Mart’s Onalaska store mislead consumers by using “Wal-Mart Organics” signs on products that are not organic.
To be labeled “USDA Organic,” food must be produced in accordance with certain standards, without pesticides, artificial fertilizers, hormones and other ingredients.
Wal-Mart corporate spokeswoman Karen Burke said any mislabeling was “inadvertent.”
Cornucopia co-founder Mark Kastel of La Farge, Wis., said Friday that Wal-Mart doesn’t take the mislabeling seriously. His group has documented similar problems at dozens of Wal-Marts across the country, he said.
Kastel wrote to Wal-Mart’s CEO about the problem in September. When nothing changed, Cornucopia filed a complaint with the USDA in early November.
“Someone needs to take action to end this abuse of the organic label, and we are calling upon the
See WAL-MART, page 3A
state of Wisconsin to act if the USDA and Wal-Mart are unwilling or unable to correct the problem,” Cornucopia said in its complaint to DATCP.
Cornucopia charged that “Wal-Mart Organics” cards were used to advertise tubs of non-organic Stonyfield Farms yogurt in Onalaska. The cards were printed with the product’s name and price.
Friday, the La Crosse (Wis.) Tribune verified Cornucopia’s claim about the labeling for Stonyfield Farms yogurt and pointed it out to a Wal-Mart manager. The La Crosse Supercenter had no such labeling on the yogurt.
The Tribune also found “organic” point-of-sale signs on shelves with non-organic eggs and non-organic rice milk at the Onalaska Supercenter. At the La Crosse Supercenter, “organic” signs were on cooler shelves in the produce section containing non-organic Asian food products.
“Although Wal-Mart has more than 2,000 locations that may offer up to 200 organic selections in addition to thousands of non-organic offerings, we believe it to be an isolated incident should a green organic identifying tag be inadvertently placed by or accidentally shift in front of the wrong item,” Burke said. “The USDA certification label is featured on the packaging of the organic selections we offer for further customer information and verification.”
She added, “We continue to work with our store associates to have the identifying tags checked periodically for accuracy.”
Natural food stores and cooperatives, once the only source for organic foods, have been concerned Wal-Mart’s entry into organics could lead to weakened standards.
Michelle Schry, general manager of the People’s Food Co-op in La Crosse, said people who are new to organics “really need to be able to count on not only the package labeling, but also the store signage, because they’re being introduced to a whole new class of products.”
Schry also is president of the National Cooperative Grocers Association, whose 106 members have combined annual sales of more than $700 million. “Our biggest concern about Wal-Mart getting into the organics business, is that we want them to be a partner to ensure that they maintain the integrity of organics,” she said.
Rob Pretasky, specialty foods director for Onalaska-based Festival Foods, said their sales of “natural” foods, including organics, have doubled in the past three years, making it the fastest-growing category.
“We never put any signs up on anything and say it’s organic unless it is a USDA-approved organic seal product,” said Pretasky. “We’re very fussy about how we sign our items.”
On the Web
Wal-Mart Organics site:
walmart.triaddigital.com/Walmart-Organics.aspx
The Cornucopia Institute:
www.cornucopia.org
USDA National Organic Program:
www.ams.usda.gov/NOP
A photo of the “Wal-Mart Organics” sign at the Onalaska Wal-Mart with non-organic Stonyfield Farms yogurt can be seen online at www.rivervalleyblogs.com
Reid Magney can be reached at (608) 791-8211 or rmagney@lacrossetribune.com.
News Flash: Walmart makes mistakes wrote on Jan 15, 2007 10:35 PM: