Edmund LaMacchia is our Global Vice President of Procurement.

We know our customers put a great deal of trust in us and because of this recent beef recall; we feel we have let you down. But first I’d like to tell you that no one is more disappointed than I am. Our own trust in our beef supplier was misplaced in this instance.  We have worked for the last 28 years to establish second-to-none quality and safety standards. With our excellent track record of providing the very best beef products over the years, we have never had a confirmed case of Coli 0157:H7 in our meat departments.

As soon as we learned of the possibility that a small amount of ground beef from our stores in two states could be related to nine people who became sick, we reacted quickly. While we searched for any direct link between the illnesses and meat from our stores – all tests of our beef have so far come back negative for E. coli – we determined it was important for the health of our customers to issue a voluntary recall of ground beef from multiple states that was purchased between June 2 and August 6, 2008.

So, how did this happen?  Read the rest of this entry »

When I was in Brazil this past year for a food industry show, I met a brother and a sister who lived and worked on their family’s biodynamic aloe vera farm. I learned that on this farm the siblings made cleaning products from the aloe vera that they grew.

Their family, the Weltzien’s, founded EcoPath in 1981 in São Paulo, Brazil after relocating from Spain. The family business was the first company to introduce biodegradable, concentrated cleaning products to the Brazilian market. The products have improved along the years, eliminating all petrochemicals. Now, EcoPath has the first and only ready-to-use cleaning product line that is certified Natural by IBD (Biodynamic Institute), Rainforest Alliance Certified and part of the Whole Trade Guarantee program, all of which guarantee social and environmental responsibility.

All of EcoPath’s products are hand filled with labels that are applied by hand, thus providing jobs around their community. All of their product lines contain organic and biodynamic aloe vera grown on the family farm. The workers receive above standard salaries and are educated about recycling, organic agriculture and environmental protection. They also participate in neighborhood recycling programs to raise funds for public schools and other charitable entities. Today, the siblings — Falk, Thorsten, Becky, Folko and Klaus — are working hard to continue their father’s legacy and introduce these products to the world!

EcoPath Cleaning Product Listing:
• Eco Purpose All Purpose Cleaner
• Eco Purpose Dishwashing Liquid Lemon grass
• Eco Purpose Dishwashing Liquid no fragrance
• Eco Purpose Laundry Wash Liquid
• Eco Purpose Laundry Wash Powder fragrance free

Do you wonder if the reasons you choose natural foods for your kids could also apply to toothpaste? Learn about the choices and get tips for natural oral care products that work well—and taste great—for even the pickiest kids.

Pam Scheeler has a B.S. in biochemistry and works in Tom’s of Maine’s Consumer Care and Professional Advocacy groups for oral care formulation and testing.

Podcast: Download

Encore Presentation

Everybody knows balsamic vinegar, but here we’re not talking about just any vinegar, we’re working with barrel-aged balsamic vinegar imported from Italy. Try our trio of recipes—we think you’ll be able to appreciate the difference.

What’s your favorite way to use balsamic vinegar in the kitchen?

Get the recipe: Strawberries and Ice Cream with Balsamic Vinegar Reduction

Edited from an August 8, 2008 Press Release

In response to state and federal investigations into an E. coli outbreak, we’ve announced a voluntary multi-state recall of fresh ground beef sold between June 2 and August 6, 2008 because of a concern that it may be contaminated with E. coli 0157:H7 bacteria.

We’ve been informed that the beef in question apparently came from Coleman Natural Beef whose Nebraska Beef processing plant was previously subject to a nationwide recall for E. coli 0157:H7 contamination. At the time of the previous recall, we received assurances from Coleman Natural Beef that no product delivered to our stores was linked to the recall. Those assurances are now in question and we are actively investigating the issue. At this time, no Coleman Natural Beef fresh ground beef products from the Nebraska Beef processing facility are available in any Whole Foods Market stores.

“While Coleman Natural Beef is a relatively small supplier for Whole Foods Market, we are extremely disappointed that we must now question Coleman’s assurances,” said Edmund Lamacchia, global vice president of procurement. Neither Coleman Natural Beef nor Nebraska Beef are owned or operated by Whole Foods Market.

At this time, although the illnesses allegedly linked to Whole Foods Market are in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, we chose to broaden our voluntary recall to the following states out of an abundance of caution: Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, Massachusetts, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington D. C., Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Canada.

The recalls come as a result of investigations into confirmed cases of E. coli 0157:H7 contamination in Virginia, Ohio, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. The investigations include supermarkets Dorothy Lane and Kroger, as well as beef suppliers and processors such as Coleman Natural Beef and Nebraska Beef, and are still ongoing as state and federal agencies work to determine the source of the outbreak. As a precaution, on August 6th, we voluntarily pulled shipments of beef from Coleman from our stores nationwide. No beef associated with the recall is currently on any of our meat counter shelves. Customers can continue to shop our meat departments with confidence.

We are asking customers who may have ground beef purchased between June 2nd and August 6th (check your freezer) to dispose of the product and return to the store with the packaging or receipt for a full refund.

“At Whole Foods Market, one of our top priorities is consumer safety, and we go to great lengths to ensure the safety and quality of our meats,” said Lamacchia. “We are currently cooperating with the USDA, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Montgomery County Health Department in Pennsylvania as part of a routine multi-state investigation into these confirmed cases of E. coli 0157:H7 infection.”

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health issued warnings about the targeted beef. We will continue to work with state and federal authorities as this investigation progresses, and look forward to providing our customers with the high quality products that they have come to expect.

Hi, my name is Erin and I am a high school senior from Northern California. I founded Teens for Safe Cosmetics with a group of my peers because I don’t think that we should have to choose between beauty and health! And now I apply a similar philosophy to all aspects of my life: why risk my well being when I don’t have to?

With summer’s end just around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about back to school. Can you believe it?! In addition to finding out about classes, teachers, schedules, and readjusting to waking up to my alarm clock, I think back to school is the perfect opportunity to embrace a more eco-conscious lifestyle. From my shampoo and mascara to my outfit for the first day of school to binders and text books, I am Turning Green!

Check out these four simple tips, watch Kylie’s video tips and join us on this ever-evolving journey towards a healthy body and world. Check back throughout the month of August for more back to school tips from Teens for Safe Cosmetics. And enjoy these last few weeks of summer!!

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Whole Foods Market owns Allegro Coffee Company,our experts in the coffee and tea business. Darrin Daniel, Allegro’s coffee buyer, blogs about coffee, Ecuador and the mysterious town of Vilcabamba where some of their citizens have lived to be 125+ years old.

Day One: Visit to Espindola to meet producers

Having just completed a nearly seven day journey in Northern Peru, it was time to fly from the coastal town of Chiclayo in Peru and hop on over to Ecuador. Our plan was to fly into the southern region of Ecuador’s Loja department and visit with the members of PROCAFEQ, the producers of our Special Reserve Ecuadorian coffee known as Espindola. Loja’s high sierra plateau is part of the stupendous northern Andean chain of mountains and this was our first time visiting Ecuador. For Allegro this was a great opportunity for us to show the growers our support. FAPECAFES is the larger umbrella export group that helps aid in marketing and selling coffees from not only PROCAFEQ but five other regions within Ecuador. Our plan this year is to purchase two containers (about 500 bags) of their very best coffee.

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There have been some media stories lately about how people are trading down to save money on food in these uncertain economic times. To me, that seems like such a poor trade off. I shop at Whole Foods Market because I know I can trust that every product is free of the junk I don’t want: artificial additives, sweeteners, colors, preservatives and trans fats. Yes, I work here but this stuff was important to me before and it’s even more important to me as I learn more about the toxins in our environment.

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On a Saturday promising to top 103 degrees, I arrived early at our local Kyle Market Days, conducted monthly in this former railroad town 15 miles south of Austin. I stopped off for a few minutes to visit with Tim, our local organic farmer, who had culinary herbs and plants, plus tiny amounts of garlic and peppers on offer. The big rain associated with Hurricane Dolly last week dampened the soil enough to allow his late summer/fall crop seedlings to sprout. We’re all crossing our fingers that the 2008 hurricane season doesn’t further damage any of our coastal towns, but will bring welcome moisture from the Gulf of Mexico to central Texas. We’re already matching the record-setting temperatures of year 2000 for days above 100 degrees, and we’re only in early August.

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From a guest blogger for the Whole Planet Foundation, Alex Crane.

Maria Juracán is waiting for me outside her home. She waves as Manuel Mandoza and I walk down the steep dirt path to Peña Blanca, a farming community isolated by the mountainous topography of the Western Guatemalan Highlands. My legs are stiff and I’m walking clumsily; I’ve just ridden a motorcycle for the first time. And what a first! The road up from Panajachel to Peña Blanca is windy, narrow, and chaotic (buses tend to honk at blind corners rather than decrease in speed). I took to clenching my legs to the bike with all the strength I could muster. I smile and wave back, trying to contain my excitement; today brings another first: my first interview with a Grameen Guatemala borrower.
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