Wal-Mart mislabeling organic foods?

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) has been under fire recently for the possible mislabeling of "organic" foods and produce in its stores. To bring you up to speed, the world's largest retailer embarked on bringing higher-end food goods into its stores last year to attract higher-income shoppers who require healthier foods not tainted by pesticides, preservatives and fake colors and flavors (like most processed foods).

The only problem was, as I noted several times in the last year, was that the smaller organic farming industry was not at all prepared to supply the needs of Wal-Mart. Hence, Wal-Mart's "organic" retailing machine was doomed from the start I believe. It could still arrive to where it needs to be, but with allegations of mislabeling regular food as "organic," maybe its heart was never in it to begin with.

Fast forward to 2007, where the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection says it found numerous instances of conventional food products improperly labeled as organic. The culprit? Wal-Mart. Big surprise, right? The findings were made public after a three-month investigation found that the term 'Wal-Mart Organics' were being used on non-organic products. That, my friends, is easily a blatant misrepresentation. The term 'Wal-Mart Organics' sounds great from a marketing perspective, but those goods better be actual organic foods of the hammer will start swinging.