Whole Foods consumers are overpaying for the swanky grocer’s “365” private-label chicken – most of which comes from plants that also service Walmart, Target and Kroger and which have harmful ranges of salmonella contamination, according to a report.
The upscale grocery chain owned by Amazon purchases its personal label chicken from plants operated by poultry giant Perdue Farms, charging up to 45.7% more at retail for the same product that’s bought in low cost chains like Walmart and mass-market grocers like Kroger, according to an explosive new report by Farm Forward, an animal advocacy group.
A new investigation claims that Whole Foods’ 365 model chicken comes from Perdue plants that have a high incidence of salmonella contamination. Helayne Seidman for the NY Post
According to Whole Foods’ web site, clients can be assured that its meat is antibiotic and hormone free and that the animals are humanely raised by farmers and ranchers who meet the retailer’s rigorous requirements.
“You deserve to feel good about the meat you’re buying,” Whole Foods’ web site states.
Farm Forward, which was based in 2007 with the intention of ending manufacturing unit farming, evaluated 247 uncooked chicken packages at 30 Whole Foods shops in all six of its gross sales areas during the week of Aug. 3. It seemed at packages of breasts, thighs and wings, inspecting the federal codes to decide at which plant the meat was processed. It decided that 92% of the meat came from a Perdue plant.
Farm Forward then seemed at the USDA data related with those plants to decide the incidence and severity of salmonella contamination at each facility over the previous 12 months.
“Before this investigation, we didn’t know that Whole Foods gets its chicken from Perdue,” said Farm Forward govt director Andrew deCoriolis.
The nonprofit discovered that 98% of the “365” model chicken was processed at plants where a extremely virulent pressure of salmonella was current in the uncooked meat, according to the report.
The entrance to a Perdue Farms chicken processing plant. The Washington Post via Getty Images
Whole Foods fees on average almost 20% more per pound and as much as 45.7% more than mainstream grocery chains, Farm Forward claims.
Another troubling discovering suggests that the meat may comprise antibiotics, since merchandise from those services confirmed high charges of antibiotic and multi-drug resistance – despite insurance policies at both Perdue and Whole Foods that prohibit the use of such medicine, according to the report.
“Perdue and Whole Foods say no antibiotics ever, but the salmonella strain Farm Forward found was drug resistant,” which means that if someone gets sick from eating the meat, the an infection may not reply to the antibiotics medical doctors would ordinarily use to deal with it, deCoriolis said.
While it is not unusual to discover strains of salmonella in uncooked chicken, some strains are more harmful than others.
Perdue is one of the largest poultry producers in the U.S. Getty Images
The investigation discovered that three of the six Perdue slaughter plants failed the authorities’s customary for salmonella contamination over the previous 12 months.
While the USDA inspects the meat and circumstances at slaughterhouses, it does not have the authority to stop the sale of poultry that is contaminated with salmonella.
“The poultry industry has lobbied heavily against [regulations],” deCoriolis advised The Post. “Poultry is by far the most contaminated meat in America with the industry warning shoppers to cook your chicken properly.
“We have been telling people to handle chicken like a bio-hazard for decades. It can cross contaminate your cutting board, countertop and knives,” he added.
Farm Forward examined 247 chicken packages at 30 Whole Foods shops this summer season. Jimin Kim/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
Earlier this 12 months, Farm Forward uncovered unsavory info about Costco’s $4.99 Kirkland Signature rotisserie chicken.
It discovered that Costco’s rotisserie chicken plant in Nebraska has a high price of salmonella contamination.
The warehouse company is dealing with a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging that Costco’s Lincoln Premium Poultry plant “consistently fails USDA salmonella safety standards year after year,” according to an investigation.
Costco filed a movement to dismiss the case in federal court in Seattle. The court has not yet ruled on the movement.
Whole Foods and Perdue did not immediately reply to requests for remark.
