Introduction and Background
I strongly dislike rumors and half-facts; I also strongly
dislike panic and hysteria. This may trace back to my days as a crisis
therapist, but I strongly feel that there usually is not so much fire as
the smoke might indicate! In late 2000 and early 2001, rumors started
circulating in the raw foods world, especially among Los Angeles-area raw
foodists, and especially among eaters of RVAF diets (raw foods diets which
include raw animal foods) that the organic produce from Whole Foods/Fresh
Fields was coated by petro-chemical waxes and oils, and that some of the
petrochemical coatings were applied by Whole Foods personnel in the produce
aisle. What was rather amusing about these rumors was they they usually
specified that only organic produce from Whole Foods was suspect, and that
organic produce from any other soucres (smaller natural foods stores, commercial
supermarket chains, etc.) was implicitly free of such putative contaminants,
and therefore safe to eat. I personally encountered these rumors
repeatedly in conversations with other RVAF eaters, and, to my dismay,
they surfaced repeatedly as well in the two e-mail lists devoted to RVAF
diets. Why was I dismayed? The rumors flew in the face of everyhing
I have ever learned about handling of organic produce at the production,
distribution and sales stages, and seemed to me to be nothing short of
blind and mindless hysteria. I have little patience for such things,
and also happened to be the list owner for one of those raw foods lists.
Therefore, in early 2001, I got on the phone over a week's time and did
some research, and compared my findings with what I had learned on this
topic over the past few years.
My Credentials
What are my credentials? I have a strong formal
educational background at both the undergraduate and graduate level in
both engineering and the sciences, and especially in the research end of
the sciences. I have a broad, 60-credit Master's degree in research
methods in physical and behavioral wellness, and have operated a small-
part-time research lab in nutritional antioxidants for several years.
I have eaten an all-raw RVAF diet since April 2000, and thus had a vested
interest in debugging the rumors about quality of organic produce, since
I eat quite a bit of this stuff myself.
More Background
As you know, there have been rumors going about the RVAF
world and the raw foods liststhat have been somewhat vague, but centered
about the allegation that Whole Foods (WF) (and, by association, Fresh
Fields, or FF) somehow sprays "all" their produce with a petroleum oil
and water mixture. The inference (and oftentimes explicit warning)
has been that even their organic produce is treated this way, and that
it likely affects all kinds of produce, such as fruits, veggies, greens,
etcetera. An additional and concomitant inference, which has been
made by at least two folks via the LIVE list, has been that Whole Fields
does this nefarious thing to organic produce, but that other vendors of
organic produce (local health food stores, local health food co-ops, and
supermarket chains such as Safeway or Schnucks) do not do so, and thus
one can safely purchase their organic produce at these alternate vendors!
Specifically, it has also been alleged that some members of the Live-fods
list and other raw foodists have been told by employees of WF/FF that WF/FF
"sprays organic produce with mineral oil and petroleum oils and waxes to
preserve them."
What Kind of Research Did I Do?
I have regularly kept abreast of this topic of coatings
on organic produce over the past 8 years, discussing it with produce managers
and clerks in a variety of settings, and even with store and chain buyers,
and I was surprised by the recent spate of rumors, since they seemed to
contradict what I have learned over the years. Thus, I hit the phone
in early 2001, and spoke over a week's time with regional produce buyers,
regional produce merchandisers, store produce managers, store produce department
team leaders, store produce department clerks and store managers at both
Whole Foods, Fresh Fields and some national supermarket chains, as well
as such personnel at smaller natural foods stores.
Overview of Whole Foods and Fresh Fields Stores, as
of Early 2001
First, Whole Foods (WF) regional management has informed
me that they operate health food supermarkets across the country, usually
under the name Whole Foods. Since about 4 years ago, they have wholly
owned Fresh Fields (FF) (primarily an East Coast chain) as well, and indeed,
operate FF, and supply FF from the same distribution chain which supplies
WF stores. Indeed, the product labels and wrappers in most FF stores now
read "Whole Foods". Out here on the East Coast, they have a
large regional HQ in Northern NJ for the stores in the Northeast states,
and a large regional HQ in Rockville, MD for the stores (WF and FF) in
the mid-Atlantic (I spoke to managers and buyers in the produce areas of
both regional offices as well.) As you are likely aware, WF/FF sells
both organic and non-organic produce in its produce departments, and each
type is labeled as such. All answers I learned for WF apply to FF
as well.
Interestingly, everything which I was told today by managers,
team leaders, produce merchandisers and produce buyers not only was rather
straightforward and uniform (and all stories tallied!), but also jibed
with what my prior research has shown and with what I have learned about
organic produce as sold by other vendors (local health food stores, local
health food co-ops, and supermarket chains such as Safeway or Schnucks)
as well. All stories told to me by everyone involved cross-checked
well, jibed with each other, made sense, and were commonsensical.
Sprays and Coatings on Produce at Whole Foods/Fresh
Fields
Each WF and FF store has a one or more LARGE signs in
the produce department stating that some produce, especially non-organic
produce, may have been treated with coatings (sometimes called waxes) by
the producer (grower, farmer or farmer's cooperative) or distributor to
retain moisture in the item, and that some of these coatings may be petroleum-based.
This is simply a reportage of the condition of foods as they arrive at
WF/FF warehouses from distributors of both non-organic and organic produce,
and thus, the sign in the WF/FF produce aisles reflects noting more than
a reminder of common and extant practices in the worlds of commercial distribution
of non-organic and organic produce, especially for shipping over
long distances, such as for non-local produce or out-of-season produce.
WF does not own any facilities for treating, spraying
or waxing any produce anywhere. They do not coat any produce, whether
non-organic or organic, whether in their warehouses or in the aisles.
WF simply purchases its produce, both organic and non-organic, from produce
distributors or large growers. State and federal laws and local health
department regulations allow many kinds of produce to be treated by the
grower, shippper, or distributor to seal in moisture and preserve freshness.
These products are usaully treated with waxes, some of which are petroleum-based.
WF does not ever coat or wax any produce itself, nor ask any vendor to
do so. Their buyers estimate that most non-organic hand fruits and
perishable vegetables (cukes, zucchini, etc.) are waxed by the time they
purchase them from growers and distributors. This is also true, but
to a somewhat lesser extent, for organic produce purchased thru organic
supply channels. If it has been treated, the organic produce
has been treated by growers, shippers or distributors as part of their
standard procedures, and not by WF, and thus, is the same organic produce
shipped to all organic vendors who buy from organic produce distributors
(in contrast, for example, to a farm stand selling organic produce fresh
from a local farm.). All organic produce which has been waxed has
been coated or waxed only with product which meet organic standards and
applicable laws for handling of organic foods. When WF/FF produce
departments spray fresh produce in the aisles to preserve it from premature
wilting and shrinkage, it is sprayed only with pure water and with nothing
else.
Greens are never treated, whether non-organic (there may
be a few exceptions here) or organic, while more perishable items
such as fruits, eggplants, peppers, cukes, etc. often are. For the
most part, WF tries to discourage distributors from treating and coating
organic produce, even though the coatings used DO meet all applicable organic
regulations and requirements, but WF recognizes that distributors may feel
that they need to ship some
produce items cross-country, and thus feel that they
must coat it with a wax-like substance to retain moisture to survive the
long trip.
While petroleum-based (aka mineral oil) waxes are sometimes
used on non-organic produce by the growers, distributors and shippers,
organic growers, distributors and shippers (who supply all health food
stores and health food vendors, and not just WF/FF) always are bound by
law and contractual requirements to treat organic produce only with waxes
and sealants which have been approved by the local organic standards certifying
organization, or by the organic certifying organization which governs the
grower of origin. These organic standards do vary from region to
region and state to state, but they either never or almost never allow
petroleum-based waxes or oils on organic produce. Rather, the sealing
agents used for
organic produce are beeswax-based waxes or plant-based
waxes.
An important point to note in the above discourse is that
these organic growers, shippers, and distributors supply this pre-treated
produce to virtually ALL health food stores, co-ops, and health food supermarkets
in the USA, along with the produce departments of supermarket chains which
carry organic produce (e.g., Safeway, Schnucks, etc.) Thus, there
is nothing
peculiar or unique to WF/FF or the organic produce which
they receive.
Indeed, both today and over the past few years when I
have asked the same questions of produce managers, produce buyers and produce
merchandisers at local health food stores, local health food co-ops
and also of organic produce distributors, I have always gotten the same
answers. Everyone involved seems to agree that the only way to guarantee
that your organic apples, oranges, pears, eggplants and cukes are NOT coated
with organically-approved is to do one of the following:
1) pick them yourself from the field
2) purchase them from a local organic farm stand
fresh and in-season
3) purchase them from a small local co-op or health
food store which labels certain organic product bins as "not sealed, not
waxed, not coated" (such products may be quite a bit more costly than normal
organic produce due to drastically increased shipping and handling costs)
Misting in the Produce Aisle
Since I have an active mind, it occurred to me that some
produce departments, when they "mist" their produce to keep it fresh, may
actually (accidentally) use not only water, but some kind of nefarious
water/wax or water/oil mixture in the misting spray. Indeed, this
allegation had surfaced repeatedly in the above-mentioned rumors which
had circulated repeatedly in early 2001. So, I asked everyone involved
specifically about that in the course of my research, both at WF/FF and
at health food co-ops, health food stores, and conventional supermarkets
(which carry organic produce) as well. Everyone involved assured
me that they use plain tap water for the misting spray; none had ever heard
of anything else.
What Other Chains or Stores Do These Findings Apply
To?
I am rather confident in stating, after concluding this
research, that my findings iterated above not only apply to WF/FF, but
also to all or almost all of the organic products which you purchase in
other health food supermarkets, health food co-ops, health food stores,
and conventional supermarkets which carry organic produce. The only
exceptions will be some
small local stores or co-ops which only buy locally and
in-season produce and thus can safely label all organic bins or at
least certain organic bins as "not sealed, not waxed, not coated".
How Accurate and Reliable Are These Findings?
I double checked and triple-checked (and more) my answers
with other mangers, buyers, produce team leaders and produce clerks within
several WF/FF stores and two different WF regional offices, as well as
with produce mangers, buyers, mechandisers and clerks at local health food
stores, health food coops and also supermarkets which carry some organic
produce. No answers contradicted others; all answers agreed (oh,
no, a conspiracy!), and people who were interviewed appeared to be very
open and willing to share whatever they knew. These answers, to me,
not only make sense, but were answers given unanimously by all involved.
Conclusion
WF is buying their organic produce through the same supply
chains which feed about 90% or more of the organic point-of-sale vendors
in the USA. If any organic produce is waxed for sealing, that has
been done in the supply chain by growers, distributors and shippers, and
not by WF. If the produce was organic, then only organic-standard
approved waxes will have been used. WF, therefore, does not carry
organic produce which is intrinsically more frequently coated with sealants,
or which is treated with petroleum-based sealants, than that sold by other
vendors. Coating of some produce is simply a method used to preserve
the life of produce to allow shipping long distances. I suspect WF/FF
got scape-goated here because they DO post large signs in their produce
aisles announcing the various coatings, and because they are large and
well-known! Hence, for their admirable level of self-disclosure,
they have inadvertently paid a price in some unsubstantiated and inaccurate
rumors.
Frankly, if you want cleaner, better organic produce than
your local organic market vendors can supply, then grow it yourself, or
purchase only organic produce locally and in-season from local organic
vendors whom you trust.
I, for one, will continue to purchase a good portion of
my organic and non-organic produce at both Whole Fodds and Fresh Fields!