Whole Foods' '365' Chicken Sourced from Perdue Plants with Salmonella Issues, Report Claims
A new report by the animal advocacy group Farm Forward alleges that Whole Foods' private-label '365' brand chicken, sold at a premium, originates from Perdue Farms plants that also supply discount retailers like Walmart and Kroger. The investigation, which analyzed 247 raw chicken packages from 30 Whole Foods stores, found that 92% of the '365' chicken came from Perdue facilities. Furthermore, 98% of this chicken was processed at plants where a highly virulent strain of salmonella was present in the raw meat. The report also suggests that the meat may contain antibiotic-resistant strains of salmonella, despite both Perdue and Whole Foods' policies against antibiotic use. Farm Forward claims that three of the six Perdue slaughter plants failed government standards for salmonella contamination over the past year. Whole Foods charges significantly more for its '365' chicken, averaging nearly 20% more per pound and up to 45.7% more than mainstream grocery chains for what the report implies is the same product.
