Whole Foods' And Sprouts' Chicken And Beef Reportedly Sourced From Tyson-Owned Brands And Perdue

We can't even trust Whole Foods or Sprouts anymore.

In 2017, Food and Wine reported that a large percentage of Whole Foods’ beef is sourced from mega-sized producers – including Tyson and Perdue – despite the company’s CEO John Mackey's reassurance that he wouldn’t allow Amazon to replace the “highest quality, delicious natural and organic products that you’ve come to love and trust."

However, Whole Foods contacted Food and Wine about their initial findings. Food and Wine then clarified that, according to Whole Foods, the grocery store only carries beef products from Open Prairie, a Tyson-owned brand, not poultry. Whole Foods further clarified that these partnerships are not new, as if that makes them any better, and that the items from Tyson and Perdue-owned brands meet company standards.

On the other hand, Sprouts Farmers Market – which has the audacity to choose a misleading name – sources chicken from multiple vendors, including Tyson. Poplitics podcast host Alex Clark showed a message between a customer and Sprouts on June 26, with Sprouts responding that they use Perdue and Tyson as their suppliers. "At Sprouts, we strive to be transparent with our guests and are happy to have researched your inquiry," their customer support message reads, before adding that their chicken is all "100% to Sprouts Specifications."

"All of our Chicken is No Antibiotics Ever and Cage Free, to name a few of our attributes," they said. "We use both Perdue and Tyson as suppliers for our NAE Chicken Programs. Thank you for making Sprouts a stop in your healthy living journey."

Tyson's and Perdue's practices and products are concerning, to say the least. In 2023, 30,000 pounds of frozen Tyson chicken nuggets were recalled after consumers found metal pieces in their products. In the same year, approximately 3,384 pounds of fully cooked beef wiener products were recalled due "to misbranding and undeclared allergens," per the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety. Listing all of these two companies' recalls would take far too long for this article.

Tyson is the largest food company in the United States, processing one of every five pounds of chicken, beef, and pork sold in the U.S. Most fast food places get their meat from Tyson, and the company also has many brands under a different name. The best way to avoid them is to support your local farmers.

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