Aldi has stopped selling foods raised using several key pesticides in a move being touted as placing it among the nation’s healthiest grocery stores, according to The Cincinnati Business Courier. Aldi said it would drop products with any of eight major pesticides: Deltamethrin, Chlorpyrifos, Clothianidin, Cypermethrin, Imidacloprid, Thiamethoxam, Sulfoxaflo and Fipronil. The move is being applauded by health-food aficionados for the healthy aspects of eating foods without pesticides and because those pesticides are considered harmful to bees. A website called Check Out the Healthy World said Aldi now rivals Whole Foods as healthiest U.S. grocery store.
Aldi is a German-based discount supermarket chain that’s expanding in the U.S. Aldi’s growth plans and transformation toward carrying healthier items at affordable prices could cut into Kroger’s fast-growing organic food sales. Its Simple Truth brand is now the nation’s largest organic food brand at $1.5 billion in annual sales.
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Editors Insight: The push to organic and healthy food is the leading food trend today; the big food retailers keep looking for ways to improve this rapidly growing segment. This announcement by Aldi has gained little media attention, mainly because the company spends very little on marketing compared to competitors in an effort to keep food prices as low as possible.
According to some reports, Aldi – a “bare bones” retailer known for its non-descript stores and economy pricing – now rivals Whole Foods Market as the United States’ healthiest food store. Aldi has removed artificial ingredients, partially hydrogenated oils, synthetic colors and MSG from private label products, which constitute 90 percent of the company’s sales. 4-26-16 By Elliot Maras
