Cross-posted at Ecotality Blog.
Wal-Mart's legal council has been warned by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection regarding repeated improper labeling of non-organic foods as "Wal-Mart Organics". The driving force behind the complaints appears to be governmental and corporate organic industry watchdog The Cornucopia Institute, who had filed complaints with Wisconsin regulators and the USDA. The complaints allege fraudulent labeling incidences in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Texas and Wisconsin.
I asked Jamie Arms, Spokeswoman for Wal-Mart Corporate Communications for a statement. Here are some significant excerpts (in the interest of fair reporting, I'll post the statement in its entirety at the end of this article):
For additional convenience in helping our customers identify the organic item displayed alongside the conventional counterparts, organic signing can be found throughout our store. In many cases, customers may find a green organic shelf tag directly in front of the organic item to help identify that an organic alternative is available.
Okay, no problem there. A green organic shelf tag directly in front of an organic item doesn't seem problematic.
Wal-Mart has more than 2,000 locations with organic food selections and many offer more than 200 organic items in addition to thousands of non-organic offerings. We realize it may simply be an execution signing issue should a green identifying tag/sign be inadvertently or mistakenly placed by or accidentally shift in front of the wrong item. <o:p></o:p>
Here are photos from the shelves of Wal-Mart stores which show examples of what are described as perhaps being "mistakenly placed" tags, or tags that may have "accidentally shift(ed)".
I shared Wal-Mart's claim with Cornucopia Institute co-founder Mark Kastel, and asked for a response.
"That’s a lot of mumbo-jumbo or misinformation. These are not generic signs. It’s all fine but it’s not organic."
"This (Cornucopia's press release on the Wal-Mart label snafu) was not some kind of 'gotcha' press release...We sent a certified letter and an email to the CEO of Wal-Mart in September (2006) saying that we had found improprieties in terms of labeling and signage, and we requested corrective action. They really could have done something about it and gotten no negative press."
Kastel also confirmed that the five states where the mis-labeling was found were the only five states that Cornucopia was able to check due to resource limitations.
This isn't the first time that Cornucopia has raised questions about Wal-Mart's Organics program.
In early 2006, Wal-Mart made a media splash by stating that they would introduce 400 organic products at prices just 10% over the cost of conventional food. The pronouncement left many organic and retail industry observers questioning the feasibility of their initiative. The Cornucopia Institute subsequently published a report, Wal-Mart: The Nation’s Largest Grocer Rolls-Out Organic Products—Market Expansion or Market Delusion.
The report found that Wal-Mart was aiming to lower organic food prices by selling a "different kind of organic product" depending on cheap foreign imports from China, large factory dairy farms milking thousands of cows, and partnering with corporate agribusinesses lacking prior experience in organic production.
According to the Wall Street Journal and other authoritative business analysis, Wal-Mart’s organic initiative, as part of a larger integrated approach to attract upscale consumers, has been a failure and is causing the corporation to now reduce the number of organic food offerings.
The USDA has not formally responded to the complaint, in spite of receiving notification six months ago.
The next time you're at Wal-Mart, check in their foods section to verify accurate labeling. Should you find what appears to be improper labeling, send an email to me at dsnodgrass@ecotality.com.
Here is the complete Wal-Mart statement:
The State of Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection sent a letter to Mark Kastel of Cornucopia on May 4, 2007, stating that they are in agreement with the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) conclusions that Wal-Mart is not in violation of the Organic Foods Protection Act or the National Organic Program as alleged in the complaint filed by Cornucopia. Their conclusion, as has always been Wal-Mart's position, is that execution of general "locater" signs are the issue and are not a violation. The complaint is closed and the state of Wisconsin will continue to monitor Wal-Mart to ensure that our "locater" signs are accurate.
Wal-Mart is a retailer and is pleased to offer our customers organic food selections that meet the USDA standards for organic products. It's important to understand that Wal-Mart itself does not certify or label food as organic. The suppliers and producers of organic foods are responsible for proper certification and labeling. At Wal-Mart, we believe strongly that USDA standards for organic products must not be compromised. Our customers who buy organic products expect them to meet these standards and we agree.
Many Wal-Mart customers consider it more convenient to find the organic alternatives they want if those selections are mixed with conventional offerings on our shelves. That's why our customers will find dry grocery, frozen and dairy organic offerings displayed alongside their brand name conventional counterparts.
For additional convenience in helping our customers identify the organic item displayed alongside the conventional counterparts, organic signing can be found throughout our store. In many cases, customers may find a green organic shelf tag directly in front of the organic item to help identify that an organic alternative is available.
Wal-Mart has more than 2,000 locations with organic food selections and many offer more than 200 organic items in addition to thousands of non-organic offerings. We realize it may simply be an execution signing issue should a green identifying tag/sign be inadvertently or mistakenly placed by or accidentally shift in front of the wrong item. Our green organic signing is for additional customer convenience to show that an organic alternative is available. It is not a label. The USDA certification label is featured on the packaging of the organic selections we offer and consumers should always rely on this USDA certification label for proper organic verification.
In order to aid our associates in maintaining accuracy to better serve our customers, we have sent updated procedural guidelines to our stores for proper management of this signing. Our operations team continues to work with store associates to have the identifying tags and signing checked periodically for accuracy.
One important note. Wal-Mart has made several moves that have been welcomed by the green community. Many of these moves have received favorable coverage here at Daily Kos.
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