PAN UK Concerns

Write to your local supermarket.

If you would like to encourage your supermarket to improve its policy on pesticide use, why not send an e-mail or write to their chief executive.

Below are the customer service details for some of the major supermarkets in the UK, and some suggestions for what you might want to include – feel free to copy any of this into an email or letter. We would appreciate if you could email us a copy of your message too (admin@pan-uk.org)

Suggestions for text:

Dear Chief Executive,

I am a regular and loyal customer of yours. I am writing to you to express my deep concern about the amount of pesticide residues that might be present in the food I purchase at your stores.

My concern about pesticide residues is as a result of the potential for negative health impacts on my family, particularly my children, and also the effects they can have on the health of farmers, farm workers and rural residents and environmental damage caused by pesticides.

I would like to choose food to minimise my intake of pesticides and want supermarkets to do more to support safer methods of pest management and reduce the amount of produce contaminated by pesticide residues.

I have read about the performance of your company on pesticide issues on the website of the Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK). I’m asking you to put more effort into reducing the use of pesticides and reporting your progress to consumers; specifically in the following areas:

Report to the public on your pesticide residue testing results
Take actions to reduce levels of pesticide residues in the food you sell
Phase out the most hazardous pesticides in your supply chain particularly those associated with cancer and reproductive problems
Provide technical and financial support to farmers in your supply chain to reduce their use of pesticides and adopt safer, non-chemical alternatives
Explore ways to reduce the amount of pesticide used to produce cosmetically perfect fruit and vegetables. I would prefer to eat food with minor blemishes and a shorter shelf life if this will reduce the amount of pesticide farmers feel obliged to use to meet your quality standards.

I hope that you will take these issues as seriously as I do and I look forward to hearing from you in due course.

Kind regards.

Customer service and CSR contacts for UK supermarkets

Aldi
Post: Aldi Stores, Holly Lane, Atherstone, Warwickshire CV9 2SQ Telephone 0844 406 8800
No email.

ASDA
Email via http://www.about-asda.com/contact-us.asp
Tel 08453001111

Co-operative
customer.relations@co-operative.coop
Write to: The Co-operative Group, Manchester M60 4ES

Lidl
Email via on-line form at http://www.lidl.co.uk/uk/home.nsf/pages/c.service.c.Customer_Services.indexTel. 0870 4441234
Post; Lidl UK GmbH, 19 Worple Road, Wimbledon SW19 4JS

Marks & Spencer
Email: suggestions@marks-and-spencer.com; OR retailcustomer.services@marksandspencer.com
Post: CSR Dept,. Waterside House, 35 North Wharf Road, London W2 1NW

Morrisons
Email:
Post: Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC, Hilmore House, Gain Lane, Bradford BD3 7DL
Tel 0845 611 5000

Sainsbury’s
Email on-line via www.sainsburys.co.uk/contactus
Post: CSR team, Sainsbury's Store Support Centre, 33 Holborn, London EC1N 2HT
Tel 0207 6956000

Somerfield
The Co-operative Group, completed its acquisition of the Somerfield supermarket chain in March 2009 and will roll out Co-op pesticide policy into these stores over the next 18 months. In the meantime, comments on Somerfield policy can be addressed to:

Email via the automatic comment form at http://www.somerfield.co.uk/contactus/index.asp

Corporate Responsibility , Somerfield House, Whitchurch Lane, Bristol BS14 0TJ
Tel 0117 935 9359

Tesco
Corporate Responsibility Team
Tesco PLC, New Tesco House, Delamare Road, Cheshunt, Hertfordshire EN8 9SL
Tesco Customer Services, Freepost SCO2298, Dundee, Scotland DD1 9HF
Telephone: 0800 505555
Email: customer.service@tesco.co.uk

Waitrose
Waitrose Customer Service Freephone: 0800 188 884
Email: customer_service@waitrose.co.uk
Post: Waitrose Customer Service Department, Waitrose Limited, Doncastle Road, Bracknell RG12 8YA

Corporate social responsibility issues are dealt with by parent company John Lewis
Email:csr@johnlewis.co.uk
Post: Emma Lacey, Corporate Social Responsibility, John Lewis Partnership, Partnership House, Carlisle Place, London SW1P 1BX