Whole Foods 2008 Annual Report Download - page 14

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 14 of the 2008 Whole Foods annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 88

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84
  • 85
  • 86
  • 87
  • 88

Products
We offer a broad and differentiated product selection with a strong emphasis on perishable foods designed to appeal to both
natural and organic foods and gourmet shoppers. Most of our products are from natural and organic food vendors; however,
we do sell certain conventional national brands that meet our quality standards.
Quality Standards
An integral part of our Company mission is to promote the vitality and well-being of all individuals by supplying the highest
quality, most wholesome foods available. We evaluate quality in terms of nutrition, freshness, appearance and taste. Our
search for quality is a never-ending process involving the careful judgment of buyers throughout the Company.
• We carefully evaluate each and every product that we sell.
• We feature foods that are free of artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, sweeteners and hydrogenated fats.
• We are passionate about great tasting food and the pleasure of sharing it with others.
• We are committed to foods that are fresh, wholesome and safe to eat.
• We seek out and promote organically grown foods.
• We provide food and nutritional products that support health and well-being.
We monitor the production and environmental practices of our seafood suppliers and support the seafood sustainability work
of the Marine Stewardship Council (“MSC”). The MSC is a global, independent, non-profit fishery certification organization
that rewards sustainable fishing practices to ensure healthier marine environments and abundant fish stocks for future
generations. We are proud to be the first U.S. retailer offering several varieties of MSC-certified seafood, which display the
MSC label to indicate the seafood is sourced from responsible, well-managed fisheries. In addition to offering MSC-certified
seafood in our stores, we have also stopped selling several seafood species that are considered by a consensus of seafood
experts to be depleted in the oceans.
For farmed seafood, our quality standards have always prohibited the use of antibiotics, added growth hormones,
preservatives and genetic modification or cloning. In fiscal year 2008, we began implementing a comprehensive set of
enhanced farmed seafood standards that include:
• farm-to-fork traceability from the hatcheries to the ponds, pens, raceways or tanks where the seafood is raised and
to the plants where it is processed;
• requirements that producers minimize the impact of fish farming on the environment by protecting sensitive habitats
such as mangrove forests and wetlands, monitoring water quality to prevent pollution, and sourcing feed ingredients
responsibly;
• the prohibition of toxic chemicals such as malachite green and organophosphate; and
• requirements that producers provide detailed information on their farming practices and pass independent third-
party audits.
8