Trader Joe’s Barring some Chinese Imports
China may face overwhelming food safety problems, after the appearance of the pet food and poisoned dumplings issues. From Los Angeles Times:
Trader Joe’s is taking some of its Chinese food off the menu.
The Monrovia-based grocery store chain, known for its wide selection of budget gourmet and ethnic offerings, said today it would phase out the sale of single-ingredient items, including garlic and spinach, that are imported from China…
China is the sixth-leading supplier of agricultural products to the U.S. With seafood included, it is the third-largest supplier of imported food, according to Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, D.C.
Origin: Jerry Hirsch, Los Angeles Times
POSTED COMMENTS: 5 Responses
[...] (Not including the recent lawsuit, which I posted on here) The Los Angeles Times reports (h/t to CDT as usual) that TJ’s is about to pull items imported from China. Sounds like big news, [...]
The cynic in me notes that at least the American yuppie population can afford to go to a place that boycotts some Chinese products, whereas others will have to settle for chains like Walmart (which will continue to stock Chinese products). I don’t think this is the lesson to be drawn from this article. I cannot foresee America abandoning Chinese products en masse. The business of import-export to and from China will not dry up anytime soon.
So what does this really mean? For those businesses still using Chinese suppliers, do your due diligence first. And then do some quality control. And again. And again. QC is your friend.
Hi Thomas,
I agree with you; the reliance on Chinese imports is currently far too high for the TJ’s partial pull-back to constitute so much as a ripple in the pool.
I think that things will start to get interesting if shoppers at chain stores begin to organize boycotts of Chinese products, which is something that could happen — and has, in small ways — even *if* QC improves. This is slightly different from your point about “America abandoning Chinese products en masse.” As you said, the business import-export relationship is too tight (fun fact that I just learned: Wal-Mart, one of the stores you mentioned, imports an estimated $15 billion worth of Chinese goods a year, and this # is steadily increasing) for trade to take a hit, but it’s possible that we could see a big change in consumer attitudes later that just might add up to something.
Or maybe that’s too unlikely; perhaps competitive prices will continue to win hearts at the end of the day. What do you think?
Thanks for your comment.
While I do believe there is some growing resentment against China by the average consumer, given people’s penchant for saving money plus market forces (or at least the media) saying that a recession is coming, I don’t think there can be any real boycotting against Chinese products. I think the recession is going to be the single biggest factor for most consumers. People are already tightening their belts and getting ready for the long haul, which means reliance on Chinese products.
I think the other problem is that our economy is too tied up with Chinese products. We simply cannot unring the bell–and American companies and other multinational corporations know this. If its not China, then it will be Vietnam, India, or some other place. But I don’t think we’ll ever go back to “Made in the USA” as good as it sounds.
Of course, I am not an economist by trade, but these are my thoughts.
[...] en masse just because a boutique food outlet does. They cannot afford to do so. Let me post a question I received: I think that things will start to get interesting if shoppers at chain stores begin to [...]