Jan 28, 2008 12:00 PM, By MARK HAMSTRA

By: By MARK HAMSTRA

WASHINGTON — The Federal Trade Commission has taken the unusual step of seeking to unravel last year's merger of Whole Foods and Wild Oats, but sources said the effort could be as much about clarifying how the courts should handle such cases as it is about killing the deal.

In a brief filed with the U.S. District Court of Appeals here seeking an order compelling Whole Foods not to close or convert any more Wild Oats locations, the FTC basically argues that the lower court did not show enough deference to the evidence presented by the government when the court ruled that the merger could go forward.

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