Aldi is now pushing and demanding food without mineral oil ingredients

Group puts pressure and demands mineral oil-free products
Aldi Süd banishes all foodstuffs with mineral oil components from the range in the future. This is currently announced by the consumer protection organization foodwatch. According to this, the discounter in a circular has called on its suppliers to "take measures to ensure compliance with this requirement in the food (...)." Previously, both Aldi groups had already communicated, from now on the use of certain bee toxic substances during cultivation to abstain from fruits, vegetables and potatoes.

Circulars to the suppliers
All food that is sold as a private label by Aldi Süd must, according to information from the consumer organization foodwatch, be free from dangerous mineral oil contamination in the future. The discounter has asked its suppliers by circular, Foodwatch said on Thursday. Over the past few months, Foodwatch has repeatedly discovered potentially carcinogenic mineral oil residues in products of various supermarket chains as part of its own tests. The largest laboratory test to date in October 2015 had shown that every fifth tested food in Germany (9 out of 42 products) was contaminated with aromatic mineral oils (MOAH).

The discounter Aldi bans all food with mineral oil residues from its range. (Image: Iron John / fotolia.com)

Booming for the entire industry
"(...) Aldi Süd's goal is to ensure that no mineral oil constituents are detectable in the foodstuffs of the own brands of the food assortment. For this reason, we urge you to take action to ensure compliance with this requirement in the food until the end of the best before date, or fresh fruit and vegetables until the expected time of consumption, "says the letter, which foodwatch released on Thursday. According to Matthias Wolfschmidt, the deputy managing director of the organization, the decision of the group is "a bang for the entire industry". Because "cancer-causing and genotoxic mineral oil constituents in food are unacceptable - and they are technically avoidable. It is high time that Edeka, Rewe, Lidl and Co. follow the example of Aldi Süd, "Wolfschmidt is quoted as saying.

Waiver of bee toxic substances
As early as Wednesday, both Aldi groups had announced that they would ban the direct use of eight pesticides (including chlorpyrifos and sulfoxaflor) in the cultivation of fruits and vegetables, which could harm bees. These agents are used in agriculture for the treatment of various crops to protect them from pests. However, experts have long warned that especially insecticides from the group of neonicotinoids are also responsible for the decline of flying insects such as bees, butterflies and hoverflies in this country. "The use of these bee toxic substances in the field must no longer take place as a spray application," said Ralf-Thomas Reichrath from the quality department of ALDI SÜD in a statement from the Group.