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Wild Oats pulls POM Wonderful from some stores

Last Updated: 2006-12-20 15:44:07 -0400 (Reuters Health)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Natural and organic grocer Wild Oats Markets Inc. pulled bottles of POM Wonderful pomegranate juice from shelves in seven stores, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday, after an animal rights group claimed it tampered with 487 bottles.

POM called the claim a hoax and said it has not found any evidence of contamination of any of its products. "So far we are not aware of any consumers who have become ill as a result of these purported actions," POM said in an e-mailed statement. Wild Oats, the No. 2 organic grocer in the United States behind Whole Foods Market Inc., said it pulled POM juice from shelves in Maine, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Connecticut. "As soon as we get test results that demonstrate that it has not been tampered with, we will reorder the product and have it back on our shelves," said Wild Oats spokeswoman Sonja Tuitele. "We want to make sure the product is safe before we continue selling it in stores that may have been targeted." An anonymous letter posted on the Web site of the North American Animal Liberation, http://www.animalliberationpressoffice.org , said bottles "along the Eastern seaboard in stores like Wild Oats, D'Agostino and Food Emporiums" had been tampered with. Posted on the Web site as a "communique", it said contaminated contents of the bottles would cause diarrhea, vomiting and headaches, but not death. POM, owned by Los Angeles-based Roll International which also owns Fiji Water and flower company Teleflora, has become a target of animal rights activists because it tests its product on animals.

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