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Apples in two Los Angeles County supermarkets were found in independent tests to contain residues of Alar, a potentially hazardous chemical that the stores' suppliers had claimed was no longer used. The tests, conducted for The Times by a private San Francisco laboratory, found traces of Alar on apples sold at a Hughes market in Monterey Park and a Lucky store in Bell. Officers of both stores said their growers had pledged in letters not to use the chemical.

Growers who supplied Alar-treated apples to a Southern California grocery chain said Thursday they did not knowingly deceive the supermarket into believing the fruit was free of the chemical. On Wednesday, Hughes Market decided to test its apples for Alar after a laboratory examination for The Times found traces of the potentially hazardous chemical in some Hughes apples.

Growers who supplied Alar-treated apples to a Southern California grocery chain said Thursday they did not knowingly deceive the supermarket into believing the fruit was free of the chemical. On Wednesday, Hughes Market decided to test its apples for Alar after a laboratory examination for The Times found traces of the potentially hazardous chemical in some Hughes apples.

Apples in two Los Angeles County supermarkets were found in independent tests to contain residues of Alar, a potentially hazardous chemical that the stores' suppliers had claimed was no longer used. The tests, conducted for The Times by a private San Francisco laboratory, found traces of Alar on apples sold at a Hughes market in Monterey Park and a Lucky store in Bell. Officers of both stores said their growers had pledged in letters not to use the chemical.

On April 20 an article by Maura Dolan, Times environmental writer, headlined "Alar Found in Apples at Four Upscale Markets," appeared in the Metro Section. The article highlights that apples purchased at Mrs. Gooch's purportedly were found in independent tests to contain Alar, a potentially hazardous chemical. Mrs. Gooch's was informed of the Times article before it went to print. Upon receiving that information, Mrs. Gooch's, among other things, determined to send the same apples out to two different laboratories for testing.

Apples purchased at four upscale Southern California markets, including Mrs. Gooch's Natural Foods Market, were found in independent tests to contain Alar, a potentially hazardous chemical that the federal government says is now rarely used. The tests, performed by a laboratory hired by The Times, found Alar traces in some varieties of red apples sold at Mrs. Gooch's in Beverly Hills, Gelson's Markets in Century City, Bristol Farms in South Pasadena and Farmers Market in Los Angeles.

Red apples purchased from four of five Orange County supermarkets were found in independent tests to have residue of Alar, a possibly carcinogenic chemical that each of the stores claimed was not used by their apple suppliers. The tests, conducted for The Times Orange County by a private San Francisco laboratory, found the highest levels of Alar--4.59 parts per million--in a sample of McIntosh apples from Albertson's in Cypress, where signs had been prominently displayed claiming that all apples were Alar-free.