Wal-Mart Accused Of Mislabeling Organics

Last updated Tuesday, January 16, 2007 5:46 PM CST in Business

By The Morning News

    The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based activist group, has filed a legal complaint against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. for allegedly mislabeling non-organic products as being certified organic in some of its stores.

    The Institute has filed the complaint with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Institute spokesman Mark Kastel said his organization filed the complaint after Wal-Mart President and CEO Lee Scott did not respond to a letter sent by the group.

    But Wal-Mart spokeswoman Karen Burke said the issue boiled down to one of misplaced signs.

    "We believe it's an isolated incident if one of those organic tags should accidentally shift in front of the wrong item, and this is what the issue is about," she said.

    Wal-Mart is working on the problem at the stores where the incidents took place, Burke said.

    Kastel countered, however, that the mislabeling was a "systematic problem" with Wal-Mart and not just an isolated incident.

    "This is no mom and pop store. This is happening all over (Wal-Mart) stores across the country," he said.

    The Cornucopia Institute earlier filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture after receiving no response to its letter to Scott, Kastel said. The organization followed up with a complaint to the state of Wisconsin after finding out that a USDA investigation could take between one and two years, he said.

    Reader Comments (7 comment(s))


    The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsibility of their authors. The Morning News does not review comments before their publication, nor do we guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by our comment policy. If you see a comment that violates our policy, please notify the web editor.

    Hmmm.... wrote on Jan 17, 2007 11:08 AM:

    " Interesting. Wonder if cornucopia is involved in anyway in the sale or promotion of organic veggies or are they strictly an "eye-spy" agency. On the other hand, I have to believe, when it comes to Wal-mart Marketing, they do nothing by "ACCIDENT." I avoid wal-mart whenever I can, but next time I will take notice. I know that few wal-mart stores have a distinct and seperate organic section, unlike most other markets I shop. "

    jd wrote on Jan 17, 2007 12:35 PM:

    " dont they have anything better to do than harrass walmart "

    book wrote on Jan 18, 2007 10:01 AM:

    " If a customer picks up a "Chutes and Ladders" game in the toy dept. and puts it down in the "Monopoly" spot....does this agency file a lawsuit against Wal-mart too? "

    cat wrote on Jan 19, 2007 9:07 AM:

    " WALMART does nothing by "accident". i worked for the company for almost 13 years, and the whole place is RUN on LIES! it's unbelievable... "

    LG wrote on Jan 19, 2007 10:20 AM:

    " I agree with CAT. As an ex-walmart employee I can testify that nothing is done by accident. It's not a matter of a customer moving an item...it's clearly deceptive labeling, which WM is expert in whether you are talking about products in it's stores or benefits it provides to it's employees. America's worst employer! "

    Assoc 2 wrote on Jan 20, 2007 6:40 PM:

    " Boo Hoo...poor Wal-Mart getting picked on...they deserve it folks...wise up! "

    Cameron Burchak wrote on Feb 14, 2007 1:29 PM:

    " Walmart rocks "


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