Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton secured a settlement via Assurance of Voluntary Compliance with Albertsons Safeway LLC, prohibiting the company from misting organic produce with synthetic pesticides like ProduceMaxx in all Texas stores. The settlement requires Albertsons-owned grocery chains to stop using synthetic antimicrobial pesticides in misting systems on organic produce and implement potable water rinses for organic produce after any prior treatments. The action follows an investigation launched in January 2026 into undisclosed pesticide use on USDA-certified organic produce.
Albertsons-owned grocery stores in Texas must immediately stop using ProduceMaxx or any other synthetic antimicrobial pesticide in misting systems on organic produce. Stores must also require employees to perform a potable water rinse on all organic produce after any ProduceMaxx treatment. The settlement is formalized via a legally binding Assurance of Voluntary Compliance (AVC).
In-house legal teams at grocery retail chains should review produce supplier agreements to add explicit prohibitions on synthetic pesticide use, including in misting systems, for USDA-certified organic produce, and require suppliers to provide written certification of compliance with organic labeling standards. Vendor agreements with misting system providers should be updated to ban the use of unapproved antimicrobial pesticides like ProduceMaxx on organic produce. Additionally, customer-facing marketing and labeling clauses should be reviewed to ensure accurate disclosures of all chemical treatments applied to organic produce, and employee training agreements should include requirements for proper rinsing of organic produce post-treatment.
Entity
Albertsons Safeway LLC
Industry
RetailOfficial Press Release
https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-secures-historic-settlement-grocery-store-chains-across-texas-stopping
AVC A
https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/images/press/AVC%20A.pdf
Texas Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/consumer-protection/privacy
"Albertsons Safeway LLC (“Albertsons”), the parent company of over ten different grocery stores chains"
"May 19, 2026 | Press Release"
"across the entire state of Texas"
"Attorney General Ken Paxton secured a settlement with Albertsons Safeway LLC"
"stop using ProduceMaxx or any other synthetic antimicrobial pesticide in misting systems on organic produce"
"signed an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance (“AVC”)"
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$150.0M
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