Safeway (SWY)

Amended March 9, 2005

This Audit Committee Charter was adopted by the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of SAFEWAY INC. (the “Company”) on August 14, 2003 and amended on July 12, 2004 and March 9, 2005.

The purpose of the Audit Committee (the “Committee”) is to assist the Board with its oversight responsibilities regarding: (i) the integrity of the Company’s financial statements; (ii) the Company’s compliance with legal and regulatory requirements; (iii) the independent auditor’s qualifications and independence; and (iv) the performance of the Company’s internal audit function and independent auditor. The Committee shall prepare the report required by the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) to be included in the Company’s annual proxy statement.

In addition to the powers and responsibilities expressly delegated to the Committee in this Charter, the Committee may exercise any other powers and carry out any other responsibilities delegated to it by the Board from time to time consistent with the Company’s bylaws. The powers and responsibilities delegated by the Board to the Committee in this Charter or otherwise shall be exercised and carried out by the Committee as it deems appropriate without requirement of Board approval, and any decision made by the Committee (including any decision to exercise or refrain from exercising any of the powers delegated to the Committee hereunder) shall be at the Committee’s sole discretion. While acting within the scope of the powers and responsibilities delegated to it, the Committee shall have and may exercise all the powers and authority of the Board. To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Committee shall have the power to determine which matters are within the scope of the powers and responsibilities delegated to it.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Committee’s responsibilities are limited to oversight. Management of the Company is responsible for the preparation, presentation and integrity of the Company’s financial statements, as well as the Company’s financial reporting process, accounting policies, internal audit function, internal accounting controls and disclosure controls and procedures. The independent auditor is responsible for performing an audit of the Company’s annual financial statements, expressing an opinion as to the conformity of such annual financial statements with generally accepted accounting principles and reviewing the Company’s quarterly financial statements. It is not the responsibility of the Committee to plan or conduct audits or to determine that the Company’s financial statements and disclosure are complete and accurate and in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and applicable laws, rules and regulations. Each member of the Committee shall be entitled to rely on the integrity of those persons within the Company and of the professionals and experts (including the Company’s internal auditor (or others responsible for the internal audit function, including contracted non-employee or audit or accounting firms engaged to provide internal audit services) (the “internal auditor”) and the Company’s independent auditor) from which the Committee receives information and, absent actual knowledge to the contrary, the accuracy of the financial and other information provided to the Committee by such persons, professionals or experts.

Further, auditing literature, particularly Statement of Auditing Standards No. 100, defines the term “review” to include a particular set of required procedures to be undertaken by independent auditors. The members of the Committee are not independent auditors, and the term “review” as used in this Charter is not intended to have

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that meaning and should not be interpreted to suggest that the Committee members can or should follow the procedures required of auditors performing reviews of financial statements.

The Committee shall consist of no fewer than three members of the Board. Each Committee member shall be financially literate as determined by the Board in its business judgment or must become financially literate within a reasonable period of time after his or her appointment to the Committee. Members of the Committee are not required to be engaged in the accounting and auditing profession and, consequently, some members may not be expert in financial matters, or in matters involving auditing or accounting. However, at least one member of the Committee shall have accounting or related financial management expertise as determined by the Board in its business judgment. At least one member (it may be the same person) also shall be an “audit committee financial expert” within the definition adopted by the SEC, or the Company shall disclose in its periodic reports required pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) the reasons why at least one member of the Committee is not an “audit committee financial expert.”

Each Committee member shall satisfy the independence requirements of the New York Stock Exchange and Exchange Act Rule 10A-3(b)(1), as well as any separate independence requirements set by the Board. No Committee member may simultaneously serve on the audit committee of more than three public companies, unless the Board determines that such simultaneous service would not impair the ability of such member to effectively serve on the Committee and such determination is disclosed in the Company’s annual proxy statement.

The members of the Committee, including the Chair of the Committee, shall be appointed by the Board on the recommendation of the Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee. Committee members may be removed from the Committee, with or without cause, by the Board.

Director’s fees are the only compensation the Committee members may receive from the Company.

The Chair (or in his or her absence, a member designated by the Chair) shall preside at each meeting of the Committee and set the agendas for Committee meetings. The Committee shall have the authority to establish its own rules and procedures for notice and conduct of its meetings so long as they are not inconsistent with any provisions of the Company’s bylaws that are applicable to the Committee.

The Committee shall meet at least once during each fiscal quarter and more frequently as the Committee deems desirable. The Committee shall meet separately, periodically, with management, with the internal auditor and with the independent auditor.

All non-management directors that are not members of the Committee may attend and observe meetings of the Committee, but shall not participate in any discussion or deliberation unless invited to do so by the Committee, and in any event shall not be entitled to vote. The Committee may, at its discretion, include in its meetings members of the Company’s management, representatives of the independent auditor, the internal auditor, any other financial personnel employed or retained by the Company or any other persons whose presence the Committee believes to be necessary or appropriate. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Committee may also exclude from its meetings any persons it deems appropriate, including, but not limited to, any non-management director that is not a member of the Committee.

The Committee may retain any independent counsel, experts or advisors (accounting, financial or otherwise) that the Committee believes to be necessary or appropriate. The Committee may also utilize the services of the Company’s regular legal counsel or other advisors to the Company. The Company shall provide for appropriate funding, as determined by the Committee, for payment of compensation to the independent auditor for the

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purpose of rendering or issuing an audit report or performing other audit, review or attest services, for payment of compensation to any advisors employed by the Committee and for ordinary administrative expenses of the Committee that are necessary or appropriate in carrying out its duties.

The Committee may conduct or authorize investigations into any matters within the scope of the powers and responsibilities delegated to the Committee.

Interaction with the Independent Auditor

1.    Appointment and Oversight.  The Committee shall be directly responsible and have sole authority for the appointment, compensation, retention, termination, evaluation and oversight of the work of the independent auditor (including resolution of any disagreements between Company management and the independent auditor regarding financial reporting) for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work or performing other audit, review or attest services for the Company, and the independent auditor shall report directly to the Committee.

2.    Pre-Approval of Services.  Before the independent auditor is engaged by the Company or its subsidiaries to render audit or non-audit services, the Committee shall pre-approve the engagement. Committee pre-approval of audit and non-audit services will not be required if the engagement for the services is entered into pursuant to pre-approval policies and procedures established by the Committee regarding the Company’s engagement of the independent auditor, provided the policies and procedures are detailed as to the particular service, the Committee is informed of each service provided and such policies and procedures do not include delegation of the Committee’s responsibilities under the Exchange Act to the Company’s management. The Committee may delegate to one or more designated members of the Committee the authority to grant pre-approvals, provided such pre-approval decisions are presented, for informational purposes only, to the Committee at a subsequent meeting. If the Committee elects to establish pre-approval policies and procedures regarding non-audit services, the Committee must be informed of each non-audit service provided by the independent auditor. Committee pre-approval of non-audit services (other than review and attest services) also will not be required if such services fall within available exceptions established by the SEC.

3.    Independence of Independent Auditor.  The Committee shall, at least annually, review the independence and quality control procedures of the independent auditor and the experience and qualifications of the independent auditor’s senior personnel that are providing audit services to the Company. In conducting its review:

(i)    The Committee shall obtain and review a report prepared by the independent auditor describing (a) the auditing firm’s internal quality-control procedures and (b) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the auditing firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities, within the preceding five years, respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the auditing firm, and any steps taken to deal with any such issues.

(ii)    The Committee shall discuss with the independent auditor its independence from the Company, and obtain and review a written statement prepared by the independent auditor describing all relationships between the independent auditor and the Company, consistent with Independence Standards Board Standard 1, and consider the impact that any relationships or services may have on the objectivity and independence of the independent auditor.

(iii)    The Committee shall confirm with the independent auditor that the independent auditor is in compliance with the partner rotation requirements established by the SEC.

(iv)    The Committee shall consider whether the Company should adopt a rotation of the annual audit among independent auditing firms.

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