Whole Foods suspends chemical spraying.
One Tuesday a month, a truck marked AAA Organic pulls into the Whole Foods Market parking lot off Cerrillos Road. An exterminator unloads his tank and sprays a chemical around the perimeter, including the welcome mat. ***image1***
Surely, the wind must blow the chemical through the automatic doors and, certainly, customers must be tracking it in on the bottoms of their shoes, Dr. Ann McCampbell, a concerned consumer with chemical sensitivities, tells SFR. Subsequently, she worries that the cyanide-based pesticide goes airborne, the air conditioning circulates particles through the air and, inevitably, some settles on the store’s pretty, color-coordinated produce stand.
“So, when Whole Foods started putting up signs all over the store in the late summer, bragging about being the first American organic grocer, I thought, ‘There’s something wrong with this picture,’� McCampbell says.
As the chairwoman of the Multiple Chemical Sensitivities Task Force of New Mexico, McCampbell began fielding calls in June from Whole Foods customers complaining that while the store was using organic pest control inside, it was using a toxic chemical outdoors. For the last six months, McCampbell has been negotiating with Whole Foods management to determine exactly what and how they were spraying.
“Chemically sensitive people can be extremely, exquisitely sensitive to pesticides where other people may or may not have a problem or notice they have a problem,â€? McCampbell says. “So having a store that’s sprayed with pesticidesâ€"we can’t go in or we have to time going in with the furthest time from the application.â€?
McCampbell cites statistics that show 15 percent of people in the state have some form of the chemical sensitivity disorder and 2 percent have acute sensitivities.
The chemical, McCampbell learned, was a product marketed by Bayer called Tempo SC. According to the product specifications, the chemical is approved for food establishments, provided that it’s not applied near food and all equipment is covered beforehand and washed thoroughly afterward.
As a result of public health concerns, Whole Foods has suspended its monthly spraying while it investigates alternatives.
“What I really want to stress here is this issue isn’t germane to our organic certification because it takes place on the outside of the store,� Organic Programs Coordinator Joe Dickson in Whole Foods’ corporate office in Austin, Texas, tells SFR. “But regardless of that, we’re certainly looking closely at our practices and listening to the feedback from this group of customers.�
In June 2003, Whole Foods became the nation’s first “certified organic� grocer through Quality Assurance International, a federally recognized accrediting organization. QAI’s guidelines don’t explicitly prohibit calendar spraying, but do say chemicals should only be used for specific pest problems as a last resort.
McCampbell has filed complaints with QAI against Whole Foods and is filing another complaint with the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office against AAA Organic Pest Control.
At the very worst, AAA is guilty of false advertising, both under state and federal laws, McCampbell says. At the very least, it is misleading the public.
Brian, a manager in AAA’s Albuquerque headquarters who would not divulge his surname, says it’s true the company offers traditional chemical pesticides in addition to organic products.
“We’re trying to find products that are all organic,� he says. “Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot out there right now.�
Santa Fe Reporter