QUALITY STANDARDS
Standards that aren’t standard anywhere else
When you walk in our doors, you’ll find vibrant stacks of produce, animal welfare rated meat, Responsibly Farmed and sustainable wild-caught seafood and body care products with ingredients you can trust. That’s because we have experienced team members who help make it all possible. They partner with farmers and suppliers and carefully vet our products to make sure they meet our high standards by researching ingredients, reading labels and auditing sourcing practices — all to make shopping easier for you. Remember, if it doesn’t meet our standards, we don’t sell it.
Food Ingredients: We did the work for you.
Wouldn’t it be more fun to shop for groceries if you didn’t have to worry about what food additives to avoid? Good news: We’re looking out for you. For starters, we don’t allow hydrogenated fats, high-fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners or more than 100 colors, flavors and preservatives commonly found in food.
See our list of unacceptable food ingredients
Whole Trade Produce, Flowers and More
From fresh roses and pineapples to chocolate and coffee, each time you purchase a product with a Whole Trade logo, you're helping real people make real improvements in their community. To wear the logo, a product must meet criteria that support workers and the environment.
See how Whole Trade makes a difference
Animal Welfare and Meat Quality
Did you know that “natural meat” only means the meat itself has no additives? That’s why we go a lot further with our standards in the meat department. From free-range to grass-fed beef, it comes from animals raised with no added hormones and no antibiotics, ever. And the farmers and ranchers we partner with are committed to animal welfare standards.
Here’s how we raise the bar on raising animals for meat
Seeking the Most Sustainable Seafood
Seafood lovers want the freshest fish, shellfish and mollusks. That’s just part of the story here. Consider our standards your sustainable seafood guide with the best choices for your values and your plate. In our seafood department, you’ll find farmed seafood that’s Responsibly Farmed — including farm-raised salmon — and wild seafood that’s rated for ecological sustainability.
Navigate your way to seafood sustainability
Body Care You Can Believe In
There are very few regulations for body care ingredients, yet millions of people looking for “natural” body care products. We’ve stepped up with standards for what we put on our shelves to help you feel confident about what you put on your body. For example, there are 100+ potentially harmful chemicals and other body care ingredients that we don’t allow. We also offer industry-leading standards for organic skin care.
Discover what makes our body care better
Cleaner Cleaning Products
“Nontoxic cleaning products” is one of the top searches when it comes to household cleaners. Whether you’re thinking about your family, your planet or both, you probably want to know what’s in your cleaning products, and so do we. Our Eco-Scale rating system requires ingredient listings on every label and bans more than 40 ingredients at the base level.
Check the levels of our Eco-Scale rating system for cleaning products
Let’s Get Real About Eggs
All whole eggs that we sell are cage-free — and have been since 2004. For the past several years, we’ve been working with our farmers to develop standards for the health and well-being of laying hens. We are introducing these new standards with our 365 Everyday Value eggs.
Learn about the different labels on our egg cartons