Record recalls, secret sourcing, and a sugar-coated screw: The inside story of the Trader Joe’s products you love
The beloved grocery brand has issued 22 recalls in the last 18 months, but employees and industry experts say that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
This story is the second in a three-part series exploring Trader Joe’s business practices. Click here to read the first story on Trader Joe’s brand identity and environmental violations. Check back tomorrow for the final installment, an investigation into patterns of harassment and growing frustration among store employees.
Onions possibly carrying disease-causing bacteria. Deadly organic carrots. Bad frozen waffles. Dangerous deli meat and poultry products. From late October to mid-November, most major American grocery chains were forced to recall many of these items, generating a new wave of concern about how to keep the food system safe. Yet this period was hardly the first round of news-making scares for one of the most popular names in the grocery business: Trader Joe’s.