Whole Foods was once jokingly dubbed “whole paycheck,” a reflection of its reputation as a supermarket where customers accepted higher prices in exchange for what they believed were superior products.
Now, the grocer’s expensive store-brand chicken is drawing uncomfortable scrutiny over where—and how—it is processed.
Farm Forward says a large share of Whole Foods’ 365 private-label chicken is processed by Perdue, one of the country’s largest poultry companies. Perdue products are also sold through major US retailers such as Kroger, Target and Aldi.
The animal advocacy organization reviewed 247 packages of 365 chicken collected from 30 Whole Foods locations. Its analysis found that 92 percent had been processed at Perdue facilities.
The report raised an additional concern: 98 percent of the products came from plants where Salmonella strains associated with serious illness had been detected.
Customers are also paying a substantial markup for the supposedly premium poultry. Farm Forward reported that 365 chicken cost as much as 45.7 percent more than comparable products at other retailers, while the average premium was 19.6 percent.
In one example, Whole Foods priced its 365 chicken at $6.49 per pound, compared with $3.82 per pound for similar Perdue Harvestland chicken at Walmart—a gap of roughly 70 percent.
Some 365 chicken products are priced at nearly $10 per pound.
Farm Forward says much of Whole Foods’ 365 private-label chicken is processed by Perdue, whose poultry is also sold by major US retailers including Target and Aldi
Farm Forward based its analysis on records from the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.
The organization does not claim that every package of 365 chicken contains Salmonella—or that consuming the products will make shoppers ill. Still, its findings point to potential concerns involving several facilities that supply Whole Foods.
According to Farm Forward, more than one-quarter of the 365 chicken products it examined came from three slaughter plants that had failed the USDA’s contamination standard during the preceding year.
Together, those three facilities represented nearly 27 percent of the 365 chicken in the sample. Farm Forward said the issue was particularly concentrated in Whole Foods’ California and Central West sales regions.
The group also reported that more dangerous Salmonella strains accounted for the majority of positive samples at all six plants it identified as suppliers of 365 chicken.
Salmonella Infantis, Enteritidis and Typhimurium—which Farm Forward identifies as strains frequently linked to severe illness, hospitalization and death—represented between 60 percent and 100 percent of positive samples at those facilities, the report said.
Antibiotic resistance was another issue highlighted in the analysis. At each of the six plants, at least 64.8 percent of Salmonella-positive samples were resistant to one or more antibiotics. At every facility, at least 25 percent of samples showed resistance to multiple antibiotics, according to the report.
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The concern is significant because severe Salmonella infections may require antibiotic treatment. When the bacteria are resistant, physicians have fewer effective medications available.
Farm Forward reported that 365 chicken cost up to 45.7 percent more than comparable poultry sold elsewhere, with an average premium of 19.6 percent
Farm Forward also found that more than 92 percent of the raw 365 chicken in its sample had been processed at Perdue facilities.
The findings add to a broader debate over Whole Foods’ chicken supply. On social media, some shoppers have also alleged that the 365 products they purchased suffered from quality problems.
In a Reddit thread, one Connecticut shopper posted pictures of chicken bought at Whole Foods in West Hartford and Avon, claiming the meat looked freezer-burned or partly cooked and smelled more like cooked food than raw chicken.
Other commenters described 365 chicken as stringy, rubbery or unpleasantly textured, while some said they had switched to Bell & Evans instead.
One commenter claimed the 365 chicken was Perdue, and they said they had stopped buying it because of the texture, while another balked at paying around $10 a pound for chicken.
Others were more forgiving, arguing that Whole Foods can be competitive when shoppers compare similar products or make use of Prime discounts.
One Reddit user suggested the strange texture could be ‘woody breast,’ a condition associated with chicken muscle quality that can make meat unusually tough.
Whole Foods says its 365 chicken meets animal-welfare and feed standards, with product information stating that the birds are traceable to a farm or ranch and contain no added growth hormones or antibiotics.
Farm Forward found that the more dangerous strains of Salmonella dominated at all six plants it identified as supplying 365 chicken
Perdue says it has pathogen-control measures in place and is continuing efforts to improve poultry safety.
The Daily Mail has contacted Whole Foods for comment and is awaiting a response.
Concluding its report, Farm Forward says: ‘Whole Foods shoppers are not just failing to get what they’re paying for; in many cases, they’re paying more for the same types of products, from the same plants, with the same production claim, and typically the same breeds, sourced from some of the most contaminated plants in the country.’
For shoppers standing in front of the chilled meat case, the findings raise a simple question: is that extra money buying a better product – or simply a more expensive one?