Whole Foods Market

Back in June Kroger supermarkets started recalling potentially-contaminated meat supplied to them by Nebraska Beef Ltd

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) stated that Nebraska Beef production practices were “insufficient to effectively control E. coli 0157:H7 in their beef products” The agency added that the products subject to recall may have been produced under unsanitary conditions.

At least 41 people in Michigan and Ohio were stricken with E. coli food poisoning that the FSIS linked (through epidemiological investigation and genetic testing) to Nebraska Beef’s ground beef products. 19 people or more had to seek treatment for related food poisoning in hospitals, including one Michigander who was hospitalized for kidney failure.

Following the announcement by the FSIS, Kroger seemed to respond rapidly and admirably.

Did the people at Whole Foods - whose motto is "Quality Foods from sources you can trust" not get the memo? Maybe no-one in the company is intellectual enough to watch the news or even read a newspaper?

Whole Foods failed to recall any of the meat they sourced from Nebraksa Beef until last Friday, August 8th.

Meaning they had been happily selling it for over a month since the problems were first acknowledged.

Whole Foods market themselves as a 'better than the rest' chain with a nod to 'cleaner, healthier living'. This is what their website states ... our business is to sell the highest quality foods we can find at the most competitive prices possible. We evaluate quality in terms of nutrition, freshness, appearance, and taste. Our search for quality is a never-ending process involving the careful judgment of buyers throughout the company.

However, it would appear this statement is mere lip service. Their search for quality must have ended, and their failure to quickly recall contaminated beef may have done a lot more than just grip some people's shit?!

One VERY poor management decision at Whole Foods Markets should have customers seriously considering if the chain's higher-than-average prices (for "quality" remember) are justified.