Trader Joe caves in to food nazis
Pulls some Chinese food products
from their shelves
Populism is a sad and sick political ailment no matter which country it infects - and when. The Chinese "Red Menace" is being raised as watchword by our Cold War leftovers - exaggerating every opportunity offered by what is, after all, the economy of a developing nation.
China's response to economic problems - whether it be food quality or environment - dashes past our own track record like lightning. I should know. I participated in many of those fights as an ethical responsibility for any knowledgeable American. Struggles which took decades here in the US are accomplished almost overnight in China.
No matter. The food nazis can't miss a chance to have the Establishment on their side. And the least principled folks doing business in the US - won't pass up a chance to bend over for "mom and apple pie".
Trader Joe's will stop offering some Chinese-grown food products because of customer concerns about safety, the store chain announced Monday.
Garlic, frozen organic spinach and other "single ingredient" food items from mainland China will be phased out by April 1, although products that include ingredients from both China and other sources will remain.
The company believes the foods are safe but "we will continue to source products from other regions until our customers feel as confident as we do about the quality and safety of Chinese products."
Pretty good approximation of chickenshit!
As an alternative, consider a reply from Whole Foods:
We feel that simply discontinuing all single-ingredient products from
China is not a solution. Our private label team strives to ensure the
quality and safety of our products, regardless of their country of origin.
We invest a significant amount of time and energy in order to fully understand all facets of product procurement and we are constantly monitoring emerging global food issues. We are confident that our efforts are paving a positive path for the future when it comes to improving conditions in world markets so that every stakeholder will benefit by having access to higher-quality products.
We do not have plans stop the progress we have made with sourcing select high quality products for our private label brands that come from China and other global partners.
Rock on, Whole Foods!
Posted: Fri - February 15, 2008 at 10:27 AM