Texas AG Launches Investigation Over "Organic" Produce Claims

Last week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that he launched an investigation into whether grocery chains that spray organic produce with pesticides in-store are disclosing this to consumers.  

According to the Texas AG, many grocery stores spray fruit and vegetables with an antimicrobial pesticide that contains chlorine in order to control the growth of bacteria and extend the shelf life of the produce  The AG asserted that companies aren't disclosing to consumers that this is happening or that they need to wash this produce before eating it.  

In announcing the investigation, Paxton said, “Many Texans choose organic produce specifically to avoid harmful pesticides.  It’s not only wrong for grocers to mislead consumers about chemicals being sprayed on their food—it may very well be illegal. There should be no shortcuts when it comes to food safety, and my office will ensure that Texas consumers are not misled about the state of the produce they purchase.”

Paxton asserted that, at a minimum, stores must install clear signage informing consumers that their produce has been sprayed with a pesticide and include instructions to rinse before consumption. 

This investigation highlights some important issues that all advertisers making environmental claims should keep in mind.  First, if you're going to claim that a product has an environmental benefit, you'd better be able to deliver that benefit, taking into account all relevant aspects of the production and sale of the product.  Here, manufacturers are actually producing organic fruit – but the retailers are adding non-organic elements before the fruit is sold.  Manufacturers and retailers always have to consider how claims will be interpreted from the consumers' perspective.  Second, the Texas AG here seems to be saying that it's OK for retailers to sell “organic” produce that has been treated with non-organic pesticide, so long as that fact is disclosed.  It's not at all clear to me, however, that others would agree that a disclosure solves the problem here.  Some might argue, I think, that a product is simply no longer organic and shouldn't be promoted as such.