Aldi, the discount grocery store, recently announced that they will soon be supplying mostly organic products and will be banning many pesticides and toxic chemicals.
The chemicals recently banned from their products includes Thiamethoxam, Chlorpyrifos, Clothianidin, Cypermethrin, Deltamethrin, Fipronil, Imidacloprid, Sulfoxaflor and other pesticides.
Aldi also announced that they will soon be stocking fresh meat and fish and will be closely analyzing the distributors that they purchase from.
Jason Hart CEO of Aldi said in a recent statement that, “At ALDI, we are dedicated to the well-being of our customers by providing high quality groceries at the lowest possible prices and offering foods shoppers can feel good about serving their families. Our decision to remove these ingredients from all of our exclusive brand foods delivers on our ongoing commitment to meet the evolving preferences of our customers. Since more than 90 percent of the products we sell are under our exclusive brands, eliminating these ingredients will have a real impact on the over 30 million people who shop in our stores.”
Phil Lempert, editor of SupermarketGuru.com wrote that this is a sign of a changing industry.
“Today’s shoppers are more involved with food than ever before. They want to know everything about their food and the companies that supply them – especially as it relates to ingredients and the impact on their families. ALDI is leading the supermarket industry in rightly responding to the science that shows the implications of these ingredients, and meeting the needs of the increasingly savvy consumers who don’t want artificial or potentially harmful ingredients in the products they buy,” Lempert said.
Aldi is best known for its low prices, in a recent price survey, it was shown that Aldi’s prices are 30% lower than Wal-Mart. Aldi is able to keep such low prices by ordering food through specific sellers, instead of buying a wide variety of brands. They also cut costs by limiting store displays and advertising.
They have announced that their new policy regarding pesticides and GMO foods will be effective as soon as possible.
Aldi currently only has select stores open in the US, but roughly 500 more stores will be built in the US over the next two years as part of a $3 billion expansion.
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