Supermarket Chain Becomes Major Source of Organic Food : With little fanfare, grocery giant Ralphs has begun stocking an abundance of healthy, pesticide-free edibles.

Over the Fourth of July holiday, I spent a lot of time in the grocery store--note that I said “store” in the singular. Thereby hangs a tale. You might be surprised to hear that the Earthwatch columnist, often a strident promoter of organic and un-chemically grown food, didn’t trek all over the county to little health food stores. He found everything he needed at Ralphs.

Yes, I’m talking about the retail giant--the one that each week grows even bigger by acquiring other chains such as Alpha Beta and Boys. By September, the company will control almost 30% of all Southern California grocery vending--by far the largest chain hereabouts.

And, without fanfare, Ralphs is apparently turning “green.” We’re talking organic, pesticide-free. Have you already noticed? I really hadn’t until last week, when my wife sent me to the store for milk from cows fed organically grown feed.

Dutifully, I went off to the store, taking along my reporter’s notebook because she said I would find a story. She is always a little ahead of me in these things. I notice new natural gas refueling stations. She notices Ralphs selling organically grown grapes-- only organically grown grapes.

I was able to fill my shopping basket with organically grown, or pesticide- and residue-free grapes, apples, oranges and grapefruit, along with potatoes and carrots.

I also picked up organic milk, organic cookies and crackers plus preservative-free turkey sausage. I was astonished to find, prominently displayed, several brands of veggie wieners and even veggie bacon.

It looks as though, from now on, when I sermonize about dining organic and/or vegetarian in order to rescue America’s soil and its agricultural workers from chemical degradation, I’ll have to add Ralphs to my usual list of recommended shops such as Mrs. Gooch’s and Lassen’s.

This is not, by the way, because Ralphs twisted my arm or anything. Indeed, the company’s official spokespeople were very reticent about the matter, not even responding to a written inquiry.

Suspicious, I went to the food police.

Yes, there is such an organization, sort of, to turn to in such matters. It’s not actually a government entity, but rather a volunteer group called Pesticide Watch. It has 3,000 dues-paying members, no corporate contributors and operates out of Santa Barbara and San Francisco.

I was sent the group’s most-recent report on the Southern California grocery industry--conducted in cooperation with the California Public Interest Group and Sierra Club of California. It’s a very interesting read. Very.

We’re talking Ralph Nader-type folks here. So I was quite surprised to read the following observation in the executive summary of the latest “California Safe Food Survey”:

“Where you choose to shop makes a big difference in your safe food options . . . [in Southern California] Ralphs scored six times higher than the average major statewide and regional chain.”

This report went on to rate Ralphs top among major chains in our region. The absolute top in all categories in our particular county--from the smallest independent operator to the big chains--was Mrs. Gooch’s.

Joan Clayburgh, director of Pesticide Watch, theorized that Ralphs’ corporate reticence to toot its own horn about organic food might be because of concern about implied or unintended criticism of its regular brands. Nevertheless, she said, Ralphs is “unique in that they sell this quality food in all their branches,” not just in rich neighborhoods as some other chains do.

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* FYI: Copies of “The California Safe Food Survey: Comparing the Selection of Organic and Other Safe Foods at California Food Stores” are available for $5; call 564-1207.