A WHOLEFOODS STORE in the US found itself at the centre of a tweet-storm after it packaged peeled mandarins in plastic tubs… rather than leaving them in, well, ‘nature’s packaging’.

The image of the mandarins from a Wholefoods store in Oakland, California, popped up on Twitter earlier this week, in a tweet that was shared tens of thousands of times.

If only nature would find a way to cover these oranges so we didn't need to waste so much plastic on them. pic.twitter.com/00YECaHB4D
— Nathalie Gordon (@awlilnatty) March 3, 2016

Nathalie Gordon / Twitter

Peeled oranges wrapped in #plastic? #wasteful Photo by @worldofvegan at @WholeFoods pic.twitter.com/BZRhJqes7S
— Plastic Pollutes (@PlasticPollutes) March 2, 2016

Plastic Pollutes / Twitter

The company was accused of wasting packaging and unnecessarily selling the mandarins peeled. Wholefoods were quick to respond:

@PlasticPollutes @worldofvegan Our mistake. These have been pulled. We hear you, and we'll leave them in their natural packaging: the peel.
— Whole Foods Market (@WholeFoods) March 2, 2016

Whole Foods Market / Twitter

This isn’t the first time Wholeoods has come under fire for its strange products – it was also home to asparagus water:

The company told the Huffington Post that “a handful of stores experimented with a seasonal product spotlight that wasn’t fully thought through”.

Read: Want to eat a healthier diet? Here’s how (and it’s simple and cheap)>

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