You may find it surprising but a study conducted by Ben Blatt of Slate Magazine has found that Whole Foods bans around 54% of Walmart’s foods. The study revealed that Whole Foods bans Walmart’s offerings because they contain around 78 ingredients which are banned. These ingredients include recognizable sweeteners, high-fructose corn syrup, dimethylpolysiloxane and other substances that are harmful to the health of the consumers. Such ingredients can lead to obesity, chronic diseases and a variety of other illness.

Apart from Whole Foods, other natural grocers have also rejected the foods manufactured by Walmart. If the trend continues, Walmart may find itself losing ground as the consumers might be opting for more health-friendly alternatives. Whole Foods says that it has a clientele which is very choosy because of which it only opt for those products which can be deemed healthy.

Whole Foods even rejects many household brands such as Cracker Barrel cheese to Minute Maid lemonade. Whole Foods claims that these foods do not adhere to the safety, necessity, manufacturing methods and compatibility with their overall core values. More than 97% of the soft drinks available at Walmart are also rejected by this green grocer. These soft drinks reportedly contain ingredients which are regarded as unacceptable by Whole Foods.

The Great Value 100% Whole Wheat Bread from Walmart contains 7 ingredients which are not acceptable to Whole Foods. These ingredients include calcium propionate to high-fructose corn syrup. Whole Foods decision to ban these items from Walmart may be good for the consumer after all. Walmart and other manufacturers may be forced to produce food items which are more healthy and do not contain ingredients which can be harmful to the consumers. The consumers can also educate themselves and ensure that they only opt for healthy food items whenever possible.