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What Is Trader Joe’s Hiding?

The answer to that question is easy – A LOT.

A family member does this little game with me and it happens over and over. After trying a bite of something that looks homemade, I say, “Mmm where did you get this from?” and she says, “Don’t worry, it’s from Trader Joe’s, so it’s organic.” The fact that people assume all products from Trader Joe’s are organic or healthy or better than what you would find elsewhere is an alarming misconception.

For the last several months, I’ve been getting a lot of questions about Trader Joe’s. Many people are questioning the grocery store chain’s policies on genetically engineered ingredients (GMOs) and asking if I personally trust their statements about the use of GMOs in their store brand products – my short answer is no, I don’t.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I LOVE shopping at Trader Joe’s. It’s fun, the employees are super nice and helpful and it’s a pleasant experience. However, they won’t share any information with us and are completely cloaked in secrecy regarding their business practices, which makes my head want to explode.

Trader Joe’s Official GMO Statement:

Our approach to Genetically Modified Organisms is simple: we do not allow GMO ingredients in our private label products (anything with Trader Joe’s, Trader Jose’s, Trader Ming’s, etc. on the label).

 

Given what Trader Joe’s tells us about their GMO policy, we should trust them, right? Or are we trusting them just like many consumers trusted Naked Juice, Tostitos, Kashi, Gold Fish, Barbara’s Bakery, etc. who are or have been faced with lawsuits finding suspected GMOs in their so-called “natural” products?

During my research, I found out there is no regular independent third party certifier verifying their products are non-GMO on a regular basis at Trader Joe’s. It is completely up to Trader Joe’s product supply team to regulate GMOs from suppliers – not the Non-GMO Project or the USDA (for organics) that requires a high level of standards and third party testing before stating a product can be deemed free of GMOs. If there are complaints about a product, Trader Joe’s will conduct verification with a secret third party that they won’t disclose, but it’s completely up to the consumer to alert Trader Joe’s with a complaint.

In fact, Trader Joe’s stated that their products “don’t allow for auditing using the Non-GMO Project because there is an additional cost associated with that.” A representative from Trader Joe’s went on to say, “We tend to not label our products a whole lot, and won’t until there is a government regulation to understand what non-GMO even means, we aren’t going to label products that don’t have specific FDA guidelines.” So this begs the question – what does non-GMO mean to Trader Joe’s? Are they making up their own definition because they claim they don’t have direction from a governmental official?

I reached out to the Executive Director of the Non-GMO Project, Megan Westgate, to find why Trader Joe’s refuses to become Non-GMO certified. This is what she said:

“The Non-GMO Project has reached out to Trader Joe’s a number of times over the years, and we remain hopeful that at some point we will be able to forge a meaningful partnership with them. To date, it has been very difficult to ascertain the credibility of their non-GMO claims. We know that many consumers believe Trader Joe’s to be a GMO-free store, but without transparent standards or third-party verification this is impossible to confirm. Many other retailers–independent grocers, co-ops, and Whole Foods Market–are leading the way by requiring rigorous testing and labeling, and it would be great to see Trader Joe’s follow suit.”

TraderJoesProductsGMOs

Trader Joe’s says they review affidavits (the documents that prove an ingredient is not made or contaminated with GMOs) from their suppliers who make their store branded products, but there is no way to verify this. I asked Trader Joe’s if they would send me an affidavit showing proof of non-GMO corn or soy in at least one of their products that wasn’t labeled certified organic and they refused saying, “Unfortunately we don’t share those documents, they are confidential.” They wouldn’t even tell me what country some of the products were produced in either as they do not provide “country of origin” labeling.

I find the denial of my request maddening, considering I requested a similar affidavit from Honest Tea, who is owned by Coca Cola, and they completely complied and sent me the information with the confidential suppliers name blacked out. Heineken Beer also provided their affidavits when I asked them to prove to me they use no genetically modified ingredients in their beer.

Furthermore, when I reached out to the Director of the Cornucopia Institute (the top organic industry watchdog group), Mark Kastel, he stated:

“It is very hard to figure out sourcing with Trader Joe’s.  They heavily depend on private label products which are based on secrecy.  We have said that private-label organics is an “oxymoron.”  Organic consumers want to know “the story behind their food.”  They want to know where it was produced, how it was produced, how the animals and workers involved have been treated, etc.  None of that is possible with Trader Joe’s. Unlike the majority of all responsible brand marketers in organics they have refused to participate in our research studies and are thus rated very poorly on our scorecards that critique dairy foods, eggs and soy foods (etc.)”

 

We have the right to know where our food comes from and what’s in it and Trader Joe’s is refusing to give us this information.

They don’t want us to know which suppliers they are using because it would upset consumers and their suppliers if we knew the truth. For example, Stoneyfield supplies yogurt for Trader Joe’s and Stacey’s (owned by Pepsi) supplies their pita chips. Because Trader Joe’s maintains a limited supply of products, they can buy many of the same items in bulk from different suppliers keeping costs low, which is fabulous, but this comes at a cost of not actually knowing who is manufacturing our food. They keep it secret because the companies they work with, like Stacey’s, don’t want you to know that you can buy their pita chips two dollars less at Trader Joe’s under a private label. This is how Trader Joe’s has become so successful, growing at a faster pace than Whole Foods.

Trader Joes Same Company

There is another disappointing side effect of not knowing where your food comes from because if you are like me and boycott certain companies because of their business practices, it is extremely hard to vote with your dollars and know which products to buy and support. For this reason, if you want to REALLY vote with your dollars, you seriously need to consider what you are buying at Trader Joe’s. 

I have a hard time trusting a company that is not willing to show their affadavits to a customer or prove that their products are in fact GMO free. Trader’s Joe’s won’t spend any of their 8 billion dollars in sales to test and prove their products safe. And they won’t tell us what companies they work with to develop their products or what countries their ingredients come from. Have you noticed that every single Trader Joe’s branded product has “DIST & SOLD EXCLUSIVELY BY: TRADER JOE’S MONROVIA, CA 91016” written on the back? I hope we are smart enough to know the entire line of Trader Joe’s products aren’t all really from California.

label

Since Trader Joe’s does provide a price point that is unrivaled, I can see the financial benefit to shopping there, but not much else. Their fruits and vegetables are usually flown in from half way across the world, packaged in lots of plastic, providing little to no local produce (at least in my store here in Charlotte, NC). This means you could be eating nutritionally degraded produce. I have been a victim to this more than once when I bought produce that I didn’t know was less than stellar and it went bad super fast in my fridge compared to the local produce I get from my farmer or buy from other grocery stores.

Considering Trader Joe’s total lack of transparency, there’s only a limited list of products I would personally trust from Trader Joe’s, here’s what I would buy and not buy:

WHAT TO BUY AT TRADER JOE’S

  • Certified organic fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds
  • Certified organic branded Trader Joe’s products (USDA certified), for example their organic popcorn made with olive oil is a good choice
  • Certified organic milk products
  • Certified organic coffee and teas (like Yogi tea)
  • Certified organic frozen goods like frozen berries
  • Some conventional items on occasion (like kimchi) that do not have high-risk GMO crop ingredients like corn, soy, cottonseed, papaya, sugar, canola, zucchini/squash (here’s a full list of potential GMO ingredients)
  • Paper products – they use environmentally friendly practices and recycled paper

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WHAT NOT TO BUY AT TRADER JOE’S

  • Charles Shaw Wine, otherwise known as “2 buck chuck” – It’s so poor in quality, some experts call this stuff “grape-flavored soda” and compare it to what “Ronald McDonald is to the cheeseburger.” This wine is not made in a winery rather, “this wine is made in a factory, with a lot of synthetic and concentrated products, like grape musk, added to manipulate the flavors from bad grapes.” (Stick to organic wine with no detected or added sulfites)
  • Non-Trader Joe’s brands that likely contain GMO ingredients like Simply Lite, Reddi Egg, Dare, Orangina, The Laughing Cow, Morningstar, Toffutti, Think Thin Bars, Toblerone, Kashi, Barbara’s Bakery, Annie Chun’s and Power Crunch
  • Trader Joe’s branded products or other processed products that contain high-risk GMO crop ingredients like corn, soy, cottonseed, papaya, sugar, canola, zucchini/squash (A majority of their products contain one or more of these ingredients, until they can be fully transparent, I would not trust them.)
  • Pre-packaged meals like sandwiches, salads, and sushi – many of these items contain ingredients you definitely don’t want to be eating,  like cellulose (wood pulp), or imitation crab meat. Additionally, there’s way too much sodium added to these meals and they can give you a serious case of water-weight bloat and bubble gut.
  • Trader Joe’s branded dairy, yogurt, or eggs, because they are likely produced from animals fed GMO corn and soy and can contain antibiotics
  • Non Trader Joe’s branded dairy, yogurt, or eggs because they could contain (cancer causing) rBST growth hormone, GMOs and antibiotics
  • Non-organic meat or dairy, Trader Joe’s still allows antibiotics and other harmful chemicals – like autolyzed yeast extract (a hidden form of MSG) in their meat.

The most important thing to remember when shopping at Trader Joe’s or anywhere else for that matter, is to read the ingredient lists. Trader Joe’s still allows harmful petroleum- based artificial coloring, artificial flavors, carrageenan, and other questionable ingredients to creep into their stores via other brands and this is something to definitely watch out for.

licorice

If you know someone who shops at Trader Joe’s, please share this post with them. Making smart decisions together is the only way we are going to change the secretive practices of the food industry.

Keep Your Chin Up!

Food Babe

P.S. Don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter to get more info about what’s really in our food, personal updates from me and chances to win cool organic stuff.

 

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1,124 responses to “What Is Trader Joe’s Hiding?

  1. I dont know why people are so taken with this store. They have alot of frozen food, no hand made breads, fruit that is sold for too much and its a very small store with too many people in it.

      1. When has Trader joes ever said they were 100% organic ..you people are so stupid! Everywhere u go is the same.

      2. TJs is not even 20% organic, but what they do carry that is organic is usually at far better prices than the organic you find at other stores. And by far better, I mean a couple bucks per item. The only stuff I buy from Trader Joes is organic, even the TJs branded stuff has to be organic before I will buy it. If they are smart and pay attention, they they will know that they will never get me to buy more from them unless they start carrying it in organic. I usually hit up 2 to 3 stores anytime I go grocery shopping. If any of these stores had a clue, they would carry more organics and pay attention to sales trends, or better yet, pay me to disclose all of my shopping at all stores to get a better idea of what they need to start stocking. If I could get what I wanted from 1 store, I would gladly pay more so I didn’t have to hop from store to store just to get what I need/want to put a healthy balanced quality meal together.

      3. Trader Joes told me that all of there private label foods are GMO free. James, just ask them, yr the stupid one for making that stupid comment.

      4. I also shop at three stores Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Costco and pick up things at Von’s. We do it on two SS checks. I think that everyone should READ THE LABELS ! We never buy anything that may have GMO’s in them. If I see corn or its derivatives or sugar I put it back. It is easy and no where as expensive as people make it out to be. After you READ THE LABELS you may modify your diet.

    1. Agree with you. I also hate all the stuff they have from Mexico. Hey, this is the USA; employ and support our local farmers and stop having imported foods that are available here and are better. NO to Trader Joes.

      1. Mexico is fine it’s anything coming from china…. When stores are getting local the prices are higher so the consumer chooses not to buy…

      2. deedee i agree with lourdes because the only country were you see massive obesity is here , might be a reason

    2. How gross. Totally agree. People are fascinated because their un-informed neighbors told them what a great place this Trader Joe’s is and cheaper than Whole Foods. They don’t realize stores that sell so-called “healthy” items can dupe you just like upscale organic ones can. People trust way too much and don’t ask enough questions nor read labels. That’s why we are in this huge mess of people addicted to preservatives and chemicals in their foods. It turns people into zombies where all they care about is if something tastes good!! Sad commentary on this nation’s horrible addiction to chemicals in the food and in the environment, esp. toxic laundry scented products made with petroleum and other waste deemed hazardous by our own EPA. DUPED! and ZOMBIFIED! by toxic chemicals.

      1. Most of which is flavored with beet sugar that’s most likely from GMO, Monsatan sugar beets.

      1. I agree I love trader joes …if u want dont shop at trader Joe’s if u dont LIKE it. No need to criticize.

      2. She’s being informative . You shop at trader Joe’s for better quality foods than your local supermarkets, if they arent adhering to this wouldn’t you as a consumer like to know ???

      3. I worked there for 6 years and know the integrity behind the company. Like Jeanette said, don’t shop there if you don’t like it, but I believe the prices and the overall quality of (most) of their products are above and beyond most major grocery chains.

  2. This type of behavior and response from a self proclaimed Non GMO store is unacceptable. It’s against the law to mislead the public with misleading slogans. We should start a petition and protest against companies with this type of approach. Our slogan and petition should be “we have the right to know” “we ask you tell!”

    1. “The fact that people assume that all products from Trader Joe’s are organic or healthy or better than what you would find elsewhere is an alarming misconception”… that people perpetuate themselves.
      Trader Joe’s has never claimed to be a health food store, an all organic store, or a non-GMO store.
      Trader Joe’s claims that their private label, and their private label alone, is non-GMO.
      Should they be more transparent about their private label products? Probably.
      If you want full transparency on all ingredients in and sources of products, should you take up the issue with the FDA instead of a grocery store? Most definitely.

      1. Exactly, Kelly. I think Trader Joe’s creates an IMAGE of healthy foods. For this reason, we needd to be just as cautious as when in any other grocery store, and carefully read labels. I feel that a product must be 100% organic to provide as much assurance as possible that it will be free of GMOs. I say ‘as much…as possible’ because I do not have complete faith in labeling, and it depends upon the source company. THERE ARE NO STANDARDS FOR THER NATURAL on food. It is only a marketing scam. As consumers, we need to be promoting organic farming and humane raising and killing of animals, rather than insisting labels that say GMO, because most of the food already is GMO (unless organic).

      2. I do not think there is much difference between the FDA or any government agency given the “revolving door” between federal regulator and their corrupt tendency to slide back and forth between industry and regulator.

        And in fact the shortcut to true change in a large corporation is direct consumer action/boycott/picketting aimed at them and not their bought and paid for federal bureaucrat/lawmaker.

        maybe that is my bias/

        best regards

      3. TJs private label practice is an industry standard in regards to the privacy. Many stores that you shop at that have private label products are being supplied by the bigger name companies for whatever product that is PL. It would kill their business if you knew you could get basically(because most smart places change the formulation for PL products) the same item for less.

    2. Sonya, I have no idea how my comment wound up as a reply to you (the other one, not this one). Sorry. It was suppose to be a regular comment, not a reply.

    3. No, it is not against the law to have misleading labels. It should be, but it seems to be the American way to deceive, especially when it comes to food

  3. Sent to TJs: I have been a fan before the opening of the Avon Lake, OH (second Cleveland area) store. We celebrated when TJ and Costco opened stores in Sarasota. I am writing about the GMO issue. The company’s unwillingness to test and disclose sources of its private label products is now harming your brand. I don’t want to see that happen, but I also want to shop at your store with total confidence. Arguing about definitions and claiming secrecy puts you in the same camp as the fracking industry. Please, please get all the way on board.

  4. I believe that the Aldi food store chain owns Trader Joe’s. The founder died about a month ago I think. I knew nothing about either food store and found the story (NY Times) very interesting.

    1. I’VE BEEN SHOPPING AT TRADER JOES FOR OVER 40 YEARS, WHEN IT WAS CALLED “PRONTO” AND I LOVE THE PLACE, THE PEOPLE ARE GREAT AND SO HELPFUL, THEY WILL TELL YOU IF SOMETHING IS GREAT OR NOT SO GREAT. TRADER JOES IS NOT OWNED BY ANYONE ELSE, THEIR COMPANY IS IS CALIF. WHERE EVERYTHING GOOD COMES FROM.

      1. I don’t shop at either one of these stores – Aldi or Trader Joe’s, but here is the history, which I found fascinating. Aldi’s founders, Karl Albrecht (who died at age 94 July 21 of this year) and his brother, Theo, who died in 2010, started the Aldi chain (meaning “Albrecht Discount”). I guess you can say Aldi is the original Costco or Sam’s Club, but on a much smaller scale. The chain sells no more than 2000 products. The brothers had a disagreement over whether to sell cigarettes so they split operations for Aldi into 2 geographical zones. Karl ran the U.S., Britain and Australia, with Theo running Europe. In 1979, Karl stepped into the American market and bought the Trader Joe’s (New York Times, July 21, 2014). We have plenty of good stuff here in NJ like Jersey tomatoes, the best in the world.

      2. Actually Trader Joe’s is owned by Aldi, but probably not the Aldi you’re thinking of. TJ’s was started by Joe Coulombe in the late 50s as Pronto, then changed to Trader Joe’s in the 70’s. In 1979, Theo Albrecht who also owned the huge German grocer Aldi with his brother, bought Trader Joe’s from Coulombe. Joe continued to run things until 1987 when they got another CEO, who expanded out of California. They did split the German Aldi into two distinct companies as Joanna says. It’s the “North” (Aldi Nord) that owns Trader Joe’s. The “South” (Aldi Süd) one owns the Aldi stores we have here in the US. So yes, Trader Joe’s is indeed owned by Aldi, and run out of CA.

  5. I’ve noticed that many TJ products contain canola, corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, and a bunch of other crap that they previously kept out of their foods. Although I’ve been going to TJs since they opened their first store and never set foot in the big supermarkets, I now find myself shaking my head in disbelief when I read their labels. I wouldn’t be surprised if I found out that TJs had been secretly bought out by some big manufacturer. One of these days I will just stop shopping there! I’ve recently started shopping at a co-op and will probably do more and more of my shopping there instead of TJs. Its sad they gave into the pressure.

  6. I love TJ and will continue to shop there! I buy their organic products like eggs, chicken, grassfed beef, milk, yogurt, salad, veggies, fruits, bread, coffee. I don’t think that TJ ever claimed to be a 100% organic store so why do you have to be slamming them like that. Really over 90% of their meat has antibiotics. That is not true! I don’t know who their stores are in other states but in NYC they sell organic chicken, grassfed ground beef. Beef without antibiotics, hormones, etc. Turkey without all that crap too. So why say over 90% I don’t see them any different than other supermarkets that sell some organic stuff. Their only claim is that their private label doesn’t contain GMO they never said ALL of their products are organic.

    1. The fact that TJs is not being transparent makes us legitimately concerned. and the fact that they don’t reveal what farms their eggs come from means their chickens could be raised in deplorable conditions (debeaked, many birds in 1 cage, no outdoor time, etc). I am shocked that they can put that kind of a label on without stating the farms where the eggs come from. The egg rating cornucopia gives TJs the lowest rating because of their secrecy. This is very disappointing.

      1. You are aware that TJ’s products are private label, right? All the private labels in the Cornucopia List were given a 1 rating including Whole Foods 365. There is very little that a private label can reveal which is why TJ is being attacked since 90% of their store is private label. If you don’t trust private labels then don’t buy them. I’m sure they have to go through the same regulations that known brands have to go through in order to stick the organic label on them.

  7. I love trader joes and I hope they are gmo free… I asked an employee when I went if their meat was hormone free and he told me yes it’s all hormone free and he also told me unfortunately it’s not all cage free unless it says it says it’s cage free.

  8. New to eating organically, I say to my friends, “Food suppliers are like Politicians, they all lie”. I’m finding brands I have trusted land up various Supreme Court cases across the nation for false claims on their product labeling.

    Your watchdog activities which are quite informative and certainly appreciated.

    Sincerely,
    Holly

  9. Wow, I have recently seen this foodbabe site pop up in several places, and I’m starting to wonder if SO much is bad then what on earth are we suppose to eat? lol I don’t have time to grow my own vegetables. Honestly, I like Trader Joes. I usually stick with their organic products. I do the best to eat as healthy as I can, but I guess I am not religious about it. I’m honestly not even sure what I would eat if I was. According to this site, pretty much nothing is safe. *shrugs*

    1. Well guess what? That’s about right! And that’s why Vani does what she is doing. Don’t give into frustration. Just educate yourself the best you can, and be done with it. ✌️

      1. Lol john I sent thumbs up but it didn’t show. Sorry. I agree with you. Do the best you can and educate yourself. I am 2 years into organic and I still learn a few things every day. Food babe is a great guide. It can get frustrating but I feel that I’m doing my family better than I was 2 years ago. If I’m not sure about a product, I just don’t buy it.

  10. trader joe’s private label all nonsense. look up the peanut butter pretzels. they are “TOS” at all joe’s. yanked off shelves. refusing to give out information to pb supplier multiple lawsuits. TJ’s all about secrets. workers and shoppers. they’ll never tell you where stuff comes from since they’ll use multiple different vendors ( whoever is cheaper ). gmo free everything? yeah ok.

    1. I can personally tell you the reason for the peanut butter pretzels and that was bc of a Quality issue that we ( being trader joes) found and removed and fixed, we don’t normal announce removed products unless deemed necessary. We do take great care and responsibly in all are trader joes products. We do stand by all products sold in are stores, but as said in the artical above the products with out are labs do have some things in them, we aren’t sneaking them in a lot of times when we have non trader joes labels come in is bc it’s the best option or another choice to chose from. I will state as both an employee and custermer of trader joes it is hard to get info at times on produts but if you ask any employee like my self with fruit we can if we have it can show you the box that it comes from. also none of any single fruit or vegetable that has no label on it comes from use with are name on it yes that incliuds are corn on the cob single not packeg the rule is does it have a trader joes label on it its from us if not then no we never said or stated that we are 100% organic we do sell organic yes but not everything also think for your self we don’t think for you read the ingredients on anything you buy not just from use you can ask any employee questions and we welcome ur questions all the time we strive for custermer satisfaction and we always welcome every one into are home. I am a current employee at store leavel for four years in California.

      1. I’m sorry, Kat, but I have to agree with Kit. I do not think Kit was being elitist; it’s a matter of being able to comprehend what is being written. I tried to read his statement, but I gave up because it was making no sense to me, at all. I am an avid reader and I usually can overlook most grammatical and spelling errors, and I can even figure out typos and some texting lingo. But, with all of those thrown into one comment, with very little punctuation, it is extremely confusing! It is also rambling. It jumps from one topic to another, which, without punctuation, makes it too hard to follow and understand. Sorry.

      2. As a TJ employee you would do more service to yourself and TJ’s if you would spellcheck your postings first. Your authority to speak on the subject was diminished due to that nonprofessional flaw. Sorry! But it matters!

  11. the most shocking thing is their organic milk scored a 1 out of 5 from cornucopia. its not really organic.

    1. “their organic milk” doesn’t really mean anything since they source many of their products- including fluid dairy products- regionally. There is not one “Trader Joe’s milk.” What I drink here in this part of Southern California isn’t the same as what someone in another state (or even an area in Northern California,) is drinking.

      To find out where your dairy is coming from, use the site: http://whereismymilkfrom.com/

  12. I think its sadly hard ourdays to get any non GMO food anywhere except organic,and even then it can not be garantied. Even Non GMO countries like Germany cant garantie it. I like shopping at TJ.but I also go to the farmers Market,where I buy my eggs and strawberries,and other produce.

  13. What is the automatic knee jerk negative reflex to GMOS? Please explain why they are so certain to be bad when all they are is a genetic variation on the normal product.

    1. The “automatic knee jerk reaction” is to the fact that no one knows the long term effect GMOs may have on the human body> we already know that hormones and antibiotics given to animals to make them grow faster, get sick less and produce more have triggered earlier and earlier puberty on pre-adolescents. There are some who believe that GMOs may be a contributing factor to the rise in gluten intolerance and allergies. The human body has not evolved or adapted to properly digest or utilize those modifications. Also, some people just do not trust the process. Is it ignorance? Possibly. I know I do not know what all is involved in creating a GMO, and that makes me nervous. Do they use chemicals in the process? What do we know about what those chemicals do to the human body, especially in the long term? I always think of the line from “Jurassic Park”: “Scientist are so busy figuring out if they can do something, they never stop to think if they SHOULD”

    2. Proven cancer in rats. Youve got a lot to learn, but trader joes is the least of the issue…. Honestly..

  14. It doesn’t matter where you shop, you have to read the labels. I don’t blame the stores; I blame the consumer, and that includes me. It’s up to us to police ourselves. If we do not buy crap, perhaps the manufacturers will get the message. Every little bit of consumer wiseness helps.

  15. It took me a little while to see through Trader Joes. Although I still shop there, I am well aware that there is a TON of processed food on the shelves and in the freezers. I never buy the packaged stuff anymore …. it is crap and of course looks nothing like the picture on the box 😉 As I am now on a restricted diet, I am finally paying attention to what goes on my plate and I an astonished at the way I have to be constantly on my guard …. it never lets up. I guess the secret is to fix my own food with organic meats, vegetables and fruits …. and to stay out of restaurants altogether. I am seeing a big difference in my health since I have begun to watch what I eat ….. headaches and painful joints are becoming a thing of the past.

  16. I shop at a nearby TJ. I asked three different employees three separate times if their products were GMO free. Two said everything in the store was GMO free. The last person said only the TJs brands are GMO free. You can’t believe what someone tells you, you have to find it printed somewhere. Then again, who knows really if it’s true?

  17. I walked in at Trader Joes a few time sand honestly was NOT impressed with the things they sale their…especially the bread area. I do not see what the bid deal is about…except for the prices. I guess its the prices that draws people in there.

  18. The only way to be totally healthy and make this world a better compassionate place for all living beings is to stop consuming our animal friends (poisened by greed and cruelty) and eat an organic vegetable and fruit diet. Use your brain and resources to source the best and legit organic produce and you will love and live a beautiful life. Cheers!!

  19. You say
    “This wine is not made in a winery rather, “this wine is made in a factory, with a lot of synthetic and concentrated products, like grape musk, added to manipulate the flavors from bad grapes.” ”

    Wiki says:
    “The Charles Shaw label is owned by the Bronco Wine Company, headed by Fred Franzia, formerly of Franzia Brothers wines. The Bronco Wine Company produces the Charles Shaw label at their Ceres, California winery,”

  20. I love Trader Joe’s. No matter what store you go to you have to do your product research. Trader Joe’s opens up a lot of organic options that large scale grocery stores do not offer. I have to go to 4 different stores to get a variety of organic foods (1 for meat, 1 or veg/fruit, 1 for beauty products and 1 for snack item) and it shouldn’t be that hard to shop smart. I believe they have a good concept and that is a great start. Stop being so harsh, go beat up on Wal-Mart for a while.

  21. Another thing to beware of, are their ingredient labels, even on things as frozen foods, nuts, and seeds, etc. I’ve found glaring inconsistencies, such as cinnamon & sugar, or honey-glazed almonds showing far less fat & calories than raw almonds! Or frozen salmon marinated in various ingredients having less fat & calories than plain salmon!

    When I’ve pointed out these things to the store managers, they’ll act very concerned, even taking my phone number, promising to call me once they find out why the obvious inaccuracies. Not to single out Trader Joe’s, as I’ve found this kind of mislabeling in various health food stores, including Whole Foods….

  22. I’ve read that raw almonds were outlawed in the US. Trader Joe’s sells almonds labeled “raw”. When I questioned the manager he told me due to the fact TJ’s almonds are cooked less than others, they are “as raw as you can get”. I looked at him and said, “But they y are NOT in fact raw at all, are they?” To which he shrugged and said no, and mumbled something about it now being his job,,,,,

  23. FoodBabe, I discovered you and your website this year and thank you for opening my eyes to what I was feeding my family. We’ve made a lot of changes in our eating habits over the course of the year and while it’s still a work in progress with the kids, my husband and I are now hyper-aware of the contents of the “food” we see in the grocery store. A few days ago, at TRADER JOE’S here in Charlotte, I turned over a bag of frozen talapia only to see CARAGEENAN listed as one of the ingredients! To be clear, that was ONE of the ingredients– frozen fish! One of the employees asked me if something was wrong and I said, “Yes. The only ingredient in frozen fish should be FISH.” She said she was sorry and and just walked away, not knowing how to answer me. Several other people in the aisle agreed and began talking about how they get their information from you and your website.
    Just thought I’d pass that along, say “thanks!” and offer a warning to watch out for added ingredients in TJ’s frozen fish.

  24. Almost everything sold at Trader Joe’s that’s not organic is filled with artificial colors and flavors. If I wanted artificial colors, flavors and toxic preservatives I’d go shopping at the ‘regular’ grocery.

    Trader Joe’s is more a specialty food store. They sell a lot of niche products, and so-called ethnic foods. They only thing I ever found worth buying was their brand of organic box soup (tomato, squash), organic yogurt, and occasionally the organic apples. They jacked up the price on the soup so I stopped buying it.

    I definitely wouldn’t go there to buy staples. For that you’;re better off going to whole foods.

    1. This isn’t true. My family eats no artifical colors, preserves, etc and their snacks that aren’t organic are in fact artifical color/flavor/preservative free. As with anything, You have to read the label.

  25. You know, I like Food Babe, but I think this goes a bit too far. Because Trader Joe’s won’t disclose their confidential info to her, she makes statements that certain products ‘might’ or ‘probably’ contain GMO’s. I know who provides their yogurt for the Trader Joe’s label, and it is organic. Then, she underlines things like ‘corn’, ‘canola’, etc on the ingredients list of products. People can just avoid those products if they want to. It doesn’t mean they are telling lies because they do not answer to Food Babe. And as far as the Non GMO verified thing, not everyone does that, nor has to. I think this article should not have been published unless there is proof of GMO’s in their products.

  26. I will be sharing this article. I had a conversation with my 5 and 7 year old a few weeks ago about Trader Joes. My 5-year old asked why we no longer buy yogurt tubes from TJs. I told him it’s because it has carageenan in it and then went on to explain to both kids how bad that is for you. My 7-year old daughter burst into tears saying “why would Trader Joes do this to us? Why would they sell stuff that can make people sick? I never wanna go there ever again!” It was precious because that’s how we should feel. It was so innocent and logical at such a young age. Future Foodbabe right here 😉

  27. I live in Arkansas. My husband was in St Louis a few times and went to Trader Joes. I was astounded at the price of all the food he brought home. Four bags full of Trader Joes groceries for what one bag would be here. So exciting! He has celiac so Trader Joes gluten free pasta which is only $2.00 was a real bargain. Right after we got married 10 yrs ago, he found out he had Celiac. Trying to help him back then was real hard and we were eating way too much corn and I got slammed with a major sensitivity to it…I recently found out it is only to GMO corn, also no corn is really great because of mold and mycotoxins, other senstivities. So when I found out Trader Joes own label products are Gmo free…I was so excited. His last trip instead of just really basic things like the pasta, canned beans, basic spaghetti sauce…things it was easy to read on labels no citric acid …common gmo culprits he went kinda crazy and bought me different cookies and sauces, ect. thinking they were ok as long as they had Trader Joes label but indeed, I REACTED to both kinds of cookies. The chocolate marshmallows were good, they were made in France. I am not sure if I reacted to trader joes black olives…the ferrous gluconate…well I believe I did but am not certain, it could have been something else, but I am not eager to try them again. I am moving soon and would like to live near a Trader Joes and Whole Foods, but it is still tough. Actually Whole foods is going in Arkansas about an hr north and so is a Natural Grocer out of Colorado. I checked out their website and it said they are GMO free but the very next thing I saw was an ad for multivitamins I just looked up and they are not GMO free. Its a real problem. But, I did learn about superweeds on their site. …another major reason to go GMO free. As far as the GMO free verification project, I am leery of them too. There is no ongoing verification so if a company is not ethical, they could source GMO ingredients after their certification!!!!!! I reacted to a chip that was certified that had citric acid in it. Also, I saw on their site a company pending verificationI new had lots of corn. I got no response from the Verification Project so contacted the company. As usual the girl on the phone clueless. But I did find out the corn was not organically grown. When I questioned her about it she said we need to pull our request for verification. It was for a cleaning product. Another company in question I had talked to their product chemist about the presence of citric acid and he said it is corn free because the mold eats the corn and the mold is killed….sometimes I worry about just pure ignorance and stupidity but also scientific arrogance…many chemists have no problem with ascorbic acid another GMO corn ubiquitous ingredient as not containing any molecules of corn…they just dont get it and dont understand these new allergies cropping up. GMO allergies are not classic TYPE I antibody reactions. Most doctors dont even know there are other types like TYPE III and TYPE IV which is cell-mediated involving a reaction from white blood cells which unlike antibodies reacting to proteins, these reactions can involve major reactions to infintesimal amounts. Its a nightmare but its going to happen to more people. It just seems like GMO free is the new thing …Jimmy Kimmel had a funny thing they questioned people at a SoCal farmer’s market if they avoided GMO’s and they were all like yes, of course and the. when each were asked why and what they were, no one knew! It was funny but sad. Also I have seen some Libertarian or political type people putting no GMO posts on facebook talking about freedom to have heirloom seed saving but I know these people do not even begin to eat GMO free.

  28. I was totally annoyed this summer when I realized TJ’s is part of the large German chain, Aldi’s. This is a big- box store that is growing at a rapid rate in Europe. Their stores employ few people and much of the “food” is in boxes and packages. The prices there are great as they are in TJ’s but it is certainly not the same”organic” food you find at the Farmers’ Markets or more reputable stores like Whole Foods Markets. Who has time to read the tiny labels on packages? I love WF’s because I don’t feel the need to check out the list of ingredients on every purchase. It is simply a much more honest and transparent company, and a true American company!

  29. I also agree with people who commented about Trader Joe’s never saying they were a 100% organic store. Do your research and buy the products you want to buy.

  30. In a world with neiborghood american conventional stores,Traders Joe is like a fresh air breeze.
    In my town there isn’t any Whole Foods store or any vegan friendly restaurant or cafe…but there are plenty of frozen yoghurt or shaved ice places,baskin Robin and tons of fast food restaurants.It will hurt someone just to open a small corner with fresh juice or smoothies?
    Personally I hate Vons,Albertson and Safeway chain and I don’t shop there. I used to until I got seriously ill and gained weight too(I was addicted with their sodium loaded”healthy” soups).
    Not to mentioned that I love at Traders Joe how their employees treat the customers in comparison with other supermarkets. I love the fact there are a bunch of employees walking and stoking the market nonstop, this way you actually can find an employee in the store if you have a question,a dilemma or if you need help -which doesn’t happened in many supermarkets.

    From Traders Joe I buy only:
    -organic coffee and teas
    -organic greens(spinach,arugula,kale)
    -organic berries,,avocados,potatoes,limes and lemons
    -non antibiotics farm raised and\or wild salmon)
    -their

  31. Why would you waste your precious energy ripping a company that does “pretty good” apart when there are absolute abusers of people and their diets out there, e.g. giant, safeway. Please, if you want to inform the populous about the dangers of food, start at the stores where > 90% of the products for sale are inedible, not TJ’s. Obviously the company is getting bigger in size, and there needs to be some sort of trade off, also, of all the obscure products you mentioned, I have never purchased any of them.

    I am sure you would be able to find dirt under the fingernails of a gorgeous supermodel, too…

  32. Q: “Where was this TJ item sourced?”
    A: “Packaged and distributed in Monrovia, CA”

    Oh great, thanks “almighty” TJ. There’s your answer 99% of the time…wtf?????

  33. I could have sworn that in the way-back-when old days Trader Joe’s didn’t carry anything with artificial colors or flavors. When did this change?

  34. I find it interesting that you sanction their frozen berries because the source for their frozen raspberries is clearly stated on the package as coming from outside of the U.S. ( I can’t remember which country). For some reason, it is hard to find frozen raspberries that are actually grown in the U.S.

  35. Let’s find out on our own. How can we have a TJ’s product tested for GMO’s?
    We can start with one and go from there.

  36. I bought some ghee there recently and noticed a crazy disclaimer on the label to the effect that they didn’t believe that hormones used in dairy production were harmful. I don’t buy ghee there anymore and since have questioned the integrity of their products.

  37. You have to read labels no matter where you shop. Even Whole Foods and Sprouts sell some questionable items (read the nutritional info on Snapea Crips lol…nothing healthy there)

    Best way to get healthy food is to make it/grow it – but most people are no able to do that. I stick with the TJs organic milk, eggs, and other dairy and get the rest as much as possible from the Farmer’s Mkt.

  38. thank you for your awareness to the food we eat, BUT I guess those brands we shouldn’t buy, like Barbara’s from Trader Joe’s are magically “safe” at Earth Fare, or other places I guess Barbara’s products has two factories one that sells to Earth Fare and other places and one that sells to Trader Joe’s, same thing with Kashi and Morningstar..ummm like DUH, people will think Barbara’s products are bad at Trader Joe’s what happens when they see them at Earth Fare or somewhere..they will think its not Trader Joe’s we can buy it??????? Please quit attacking various stores, stick to the product that is not good, you sound hypocritical!!!!!

  39. I love TJ’s. This article is a little misleading b/c most of the products TJ’s are selling are great. It would be better if the Food Babe made a list of all the products that actually are great and not only a list of a few products that are bad. How about the ratio of good v.s “bad” products ? You are more likely to find good products here than at Safeway, Target etc. All of my very well educated friends shop at TJ’s and they are well aware of all the hype around bad ingredients. They know what to choose. Can’t wait to go grocery shopping this weekend!

  40. Why do all these organic food stores (Whole Foods & Trader Joes) continue to sell milk in those disgusting potentially harmful PLASTIC containers ???

  41. Please stop calling yourself “food babe” and if you are so into “real’ stop using photoshopped pictures. Thank you

    1. Your comment is unnecessary, irrelevant , and mean! She’s a confident, smart and beautiful woman….leave her alone!

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