Trader Joe’s China Policy
21 10 2007More on Trader Joe’s decision to discontinue sales of single ingredient foods produced in China. Today I read in http://www.arcamax.com/businessnews/s-247137-479367 and http://cbs2chicago.com/business/trader.joes.chinese.2.409777.html that TJ’s has made the decision to phase out single ingredient products made in China because of consumer pressure. They will continue to sell multi ingredient products that may contain products from China, meaning they don’t have to disclose that it contains product of China because it is below X percent of the total value of the item. TJ’s goes onto say that they believe the current single ingredient products meet their high quality specifications but the consumer has voiced their opinion, and they listened.
We must assume that the consumer is making this statement based on food safety concerns and not making a political statement. If this is the case, then why would TJ’s still allow China products in multi ingredient products? This is not logical. Why would the consumer feel safe eating a multi ingredient product that contains some percent of product from China but not feel safe from eating a single ingredient product from China?
All the multi ingredient items that contain some product from China will not be marked or have a warning “this contains some products of China” so how can the consumer make rational choices? If TJ’s is stopping single ingredient then they should stop multi ingredients products that contain products from China. This would be consistent and logical. But only stopping one (single) and not the other (multi) implies that one is safe and the other is not.
What if TJ’s stopped importing broccoli packed in China but uses broccoli in a mixture with other vegetables from other countries. It’s the same broccoli so how can one be seen as safe while the other is not?
TJ’s, in my opinion, must be consistent if they want kudos, otherwise they will end up being fools. Either stop all products from China or don’t stop any.
In my opinion, I believe that TJ’s product from China does meet their specifications because I have seen some of the facilites and know their standards. The key is to know your supplier, and educate the customer.
In the end the consumer is right. Why don’t Whole Foods customers have the same concerns?
Technorati Tags: Noon International, Trader Joe’s, China, Whole Foods, food safety
