Lately there’s been a rumor circulating about Trader Joe’s that I’d like to dispel: no, ConAgra has not bought Trader Joe’s. Trader Joe’s is still owned by Germany’s uber-private Albrecht family, ever since TJ’s founder Joe Coulumbe sold it to them back in 1979.
But ConAgra did buy Ralcorp, and Ralcorp is one of the primary manufacturers behind the majority of Trader Joe’s privately labeled, organic, and GMO-free products.
So what does ConAgra’s purchase of Ralcorp mean to the millions of loyal Trader Joe’s fans? Let’s connect the dots…
1) What does Trader Joe’s do best? Make organic produce and products available to the average consumer at affordable prices.
Strangely however, Trader Joe’s refuses to disclose the sources of these organics. Even their standard vendor agreement states (the) “Vendor shall not publicize its business relationship with TJ’s in any manner.”
In an age of food accountability—in which more and more consumers want to understand where their food comes from and how it’s produced—why is Trader Joe’s insisting on secrecy?
2) How are Trader Joe’s products made? Over 80% are manufactured under their own store label, which they tout as GMO-free.
But TJ’s doesn’t make these products. All of Trader Joe’s store labeled products are made by outside vendors—large corporations who are in business to make store-branded products for a wide variety of grocery and large retail chain stores.
Sometimes vendors will tweak the ingredients of a given product for each grocery store’s particular audience. Most of the time however, the food inside that store-labeled package is the same from store to store—with nothing more than a change in the price and the label; see a few examples here.
Since Trader Joe’s claims that all of the products under their store label are GMO-free, we’ve got to trust that the vendor they’re using is changing more than just the package label—especially since Trader Joe’s is unwilling to release their sources or disclose vendor relationships.
One of Ralcorp’s food processing facilities in New York, where layoffs occurred in January 2013
3) So who’s making Trader Joe’s store branded products? All signs point to Ralcorp.
Despite those “keep it secret” vendor agreements, basic financial information was publicly disclosed during ConAgra’s purchase of Ralcorp, including this important fact: two of Ralcorp’s key customers are Costco and Trader Joe’s.
4) What does ConAgra’s purchase of Ralcorp mean to us as consumers?
With a projected $18 billion in annual sales, the ConAgra/Ralcorp combination will create a “packaged food behemoth“—second only to Kraft Foods (who currently boasts $19 billion in annual sales).
That much dominance in food manufacturing wields significant market clout. Combine that with ConAgra’s stance on GMOs, and you’ve got…
5) What can corporations do with that much clout?
When a corporation doesn’t want to stop manufacturing food with genetically modified ingredients, doesn’t want to tell you that those ingredients are in your food, and has $18 billion in annual sales at their disposal, they can afford to wield some pretty powerful political influence.
Just a few months ago, Ralcorp’s new owner ConAgra donated $1,176,700 to fight California’s GMO labeling Proposition 37—right alongside the “Big Six” GMO crop producers and other major processed food corporations, as itemized in the above chart. (To see the complete list of corporations that donated to oppose GMO labeling, click here.)
To summarize the great Trader Joe’s debate:
Pro: affordable organics
Con: organic sources are not disclosed
Pro: private label products are GMO-free
Con: private label products are manufactured by Ralcorp, whose parent corporation ConAgra donated $1.17 million to oppose GMO labeling
It’s your turn to decide…
If Trader Joe’s is your best option for buying organic food on a limited food budget, I will never discourage that kind of logic. Your health (and the health of your family) is your #1 priority; choosing organics in whatever way is most affordable for you is the right thing to do.
But if you’re scratching your head about a company that lets a “behemoth” vendor make their GMO-free products under the ownership of a corporation that opposes GMO labeling, all while maintaining a strict policy of “don’t disclose,” then maybe it’s time to explore some alternatives, at least now and then.
Whether it’s a farmer’s market, or a food co-op like PCC Natural Market in Seattle, or a local organic grocer that’s more transparent about disclosing sources—at least you’ll know your hard-won consumer dollars aren’t “trickling upstream” to a corporation that wants to keep you in the dark about GMOs.
As No GMO Man said last month, “I believe ConAgra now controls what Dan Bane (Trader Joe’s CEO) will do. I would be singing a different tune if Mr. Bane went to the Non-GMO Project to get (his store-labeled products) verified.”
I suggest folks contact ALISON MOCHIZUKI, Dir of Public Relations at TJ’s, and request a response.
alisonmochizuki@traderjoes.com
this email is no longer valid
Dani, assuming you mean the email for Alison, TJ’s Director of Public Relations? I tried to find a direct contact for her, this website came up (it has a phone number, no idea if the number is any more valid than the email): http://ciw-online.org/TJ_agreement.html. TJs also has a generic contact form on their website here: http://www.traderjoes.com/about/product-information-form.asp
I RARELY shop at TJs. They are fake… no way in heck that they have non-gmo across all their store brand. Impossible that they are somehow able to find non-gmo soy or corn that is not organic. It is VERY difficult to find that, very difficult. Sorry I go with Eden Foods, Nature’s Path, or Organic Valley anyday over TJ.
I live in central Iowa, we have three choices for healthy foods. Tj’s, Whole foods or the Iowa coop. Tj’s is the most affordable. I try to stay away from any processed food. I too find it very hard to believe that they are using non GMO soybeans or corn across the board. Like I said, I live in Iowa, the number one producer of corn, high yields of soybeans and of course pork. In Iowa if you are a farmer growing non GMO or organic produce, signs have to be posted all over the fields and premises. I’ve seen this once and I’ve lived here most of my life. Rurally.
Sign also have to be posted if you are growing GMO corn or soy. I see them in every field, for instance there is alot of Pioneer crops being grown in both Nebraska and Iowa. Pioneewr is a Monsanto and Agroscience puppet company, a GMO pusher.
Thank you for this article, it presents food for thought without judgement. I am (or have been) a loyal TJ’s customer and I’m reconsidering my stance whether to trust their “non-GMO commitment” in light of their refusal to certify.
Thank you so much for your comment… your feelings mirrored my own after learning all this, though I did indeed want to present the information without passing any judgment.
I worked at TJ’s for 8 years, until 2008. They use to label their products non gmo (the ones that were) some of the corn chips, among other items. Those labels don’t exist anymore. I too shop at TJ’s often but today I stood there wondering, is this gmo free? It is interesting that I am now reading this and to know that they claim now that everything is gmo free? I just stick to organic if Im in question. They do have many local produce supplier options available here in the Pac northwest Tj’s…which is good.
Holy cow, to find out that all in not well at TJs, which is my go-to market. Who can we believe. Trust me, I will try to get them to come clean.
Straight from TJ’s web site:
Trader Joe’s Products are Sourced from Non-GMO Ingredients
December 12, 2012 (updated)
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).
Our efforts began in 2001, when we determined that, given a choice, our customers would prefer to eat foods and beverages made without the use of genetically engineered ingredients.
When developing products containing ingredients likely to come from genetically modified sources, we have the supplier of the product perform the necessary research to provide documentation that the suspect ingredients are from non-GMO sources. This documentation is in the form of affidavits, identity-preserved certification of seed stock, and third-party lab results from testing of the ingredients in question.
In addition to this work done in developing a given item, we conduct random audits of items with potentially suspect ingredients, using an outside, third-party lab to perform the testing.
Given our position on GMO ingredients in Trader Joe’s label products and the work done in support of that position, it is our expectation that our products test as non-GMO.
We have yet to take the approach of labeling products as non-GMO because there are no clear guidelines from the US governmental agencies covering food and beverage labeling. Instead of waiting for such guidelines to be put into effect and based upon customer feedback, we took a more holistic approach and made the no GMO ingredients position part of what the Trader Joe’s label encompasses.
We’re unable to make the same claims for branded products (products not in the Trader Joe’s label).
Organic products, regardless of brand, are by definition non-GMO.
I am wondering, is all of this affecting the food that they have made? Or the produce? Or both? Thank u
The first issue is that this article claims that Trader Joe’s claims all of their house brand products are organic, which is not true. They do claim, however, that all of their house brand products are GMO free. Only the products with organic on the label are supposed to be organic. Secondly, all organic products have to be certified by an outside source; most of Trader Joe’s products are certified by Quality Assurance International or Oregon Tilth. You can have products that are GMO free, but not organic… But not products that are organic and include GMO’s. So there are some fundamental claims in the article that aren’t true… Though that does not mean they don’t raise valid concerns about the acquisition.
Thanks for your comment but I’m not sure how you read these conclusions into this article… Trader Joes’ brand is indeed validated by the company as GMO free, but only about 80% of their branded products are organic (and I’m not certain of that percentage as Trader Joes does not disclose it on their website, so the sources I’ve found are all based on guesstimates). I absolutely agree about products being GMO-free but not organic (as I’ve written about on my “Is Organic Always GMO Free” blog post)… so I think we’re on the same side of the fence?
I just finished shopping at a Trader Joe’s a few hours ago and I’ve been wondering the same thing for a while now so I asked an employee for the third time if all their brand name products were indeed GMO free and he reassured me that we were…. I say BS!!.
Almost all of their products have some form of Soy, Corn or Oils and nowhere on the label does it say “Non-GMO”
Jack, there *is* such thing as organic soy and corn, their website attests that all of their “Trader Joe’s” branded products are GMO-free, and it sounds like they do a pretty thorough job of testing: http://www.traderjoes.com/about/customer-updates-responses.asp?i=4 However to your point, it might help consumer confidence if they included “GMO Free” on their privately labeled products…
http://occupy-monsanto.com/tag/trader-joes/
http://occupy-monsanto.com/photos-of-occupy-monsanto-shopping-for-truth-at-trader-joes-in-atlanta-georgia/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/05/trader-joes-brands_n_2807742.html#slide=2180071
Jack this is an excellent link, thanks for bringing it to our attention!
I have a problem with the first link (occupy Monsanto) they are stating that Trader Joes is claiming Organic on some of their private labels without certification from the USDA. However, they have been certified by QAI and Oregon Tilth…which means if it bears one of these marks, it IS certified. So I don’t think that these posts are very accurate. I do know they use to have some of their products labled non GMO (if it was) but I do wonder if really is ALL non GMO. I worked for TJ’s for 8 years until 2008 and I know that they do have the public interest and health in mind for their customers not share holders.
I would also like to point out in the Huffington Post article it is saying they have blind taste tested product “RUMORED” to be the supplier of some of the Trader Joe’s labels. “Therefore since Trader Joe’s claims their products to be non GMO then the “RUMORED” manufactures product should be as well.” Well just as an example it says rumored and I know for a fact the Nabisco does not supply the mentioned comparable products, such as the Tj’s Woven Wheats and the Wheat Crisps….if you actually compare the ingredients they are different.
I don’t mean to be negative here because I too questioned it, but I feel like soem people feel the need to beat a dead horse…so for those people I feel the need to say this. I keep reading over and over not only on this site but others, that many of you have read the following and post the following
“Trader Joe’s website says….. “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).
Our efforts began in 2001, when we determined that, given a choice, our customers would prefer to eat foods and beverages made without the use of genetically engineered ingredients.
When developing products containing ingredients likely to come from genetically modified sources, we have the supplier of the product perform the necessary research to provide documentation that the suspect ingredients are from non-GMO sources. This documentation is in the form of affidavits, identity-preserved certification of seed stock, and third-party lab results from testing of the ingredients in question.
In addition to this work done in developing a given item, we conduct random audits of items with potentially suspect ingredients, using an outside, third-party lab to perform the testing.”
When you keep asking the same question over and over again and wonder WHY Trader Joes’ wont answer…well people, they already answered the question, so no matter how many times you ask them the answer is still going to be the same.
I AGREE that they should go back to putting that NON GMO label on their, but lets face it we want cheep food and a dumb little stamp from that certification co. cost more money. I really just have to have faith that Trader Joe’s is not going to LYE on their website that they really do not want GMO’s in their store and do everything to keep them out.
Thank you…sorry I had to write a book about it.
So glad someone is writing about this… I DID contact TJs via email and asked them… ok, so your cornstarch, your baking soda, your salad dressings… all GMO free? Really? I am still waiting for a response and it’s been about two months now. Truth be known, I LOVE to shop at TJs because I think the store is fun but I don’t trust their non-GMO claims either. This is what their website says: “When developing products containing ingredients likely to come from genetically modified sources, we have the supplier of the product perform the necessary research to provide documentation that the suspect ingredients are from non-GMO sources. This documentation is in the form of affidavits, identity-preserved certification of seed stock, and third-party lab results from testing of the ingredients in question.
In addition to this work done in developing a given item, we conduct random audits of items with potentially suspect ingredients, using an outside, third-party lab to perform the testing.
Given our position on GMO ingredients in Trader Joe’s label products and the work done in support of that position, it is our expectation that our products test as non-GMO.”
I hear ya! It’s so hard to decide. I want to support companies that provide affordable organic options to the average consumer, I want to believe they are doing everything in their power to keep their brand GMO-free, I want to believe their unwillingness to divulge their sources is just a corporate privacy thing, I want to believe RalCorp can manufacture products for two different grocery store chains and truly separate the non-GMO from the GMO… but… I keep having this deep “hmm” feeling in my gut…
Me too! That “hmm” feeling in my gut is something akin to… if their food is truly non-GMO, how can they keep their prices so low? The obvious answer is “no way”. And why haven’t they responded to my email? My gut instinct here is that TJs is in over their trader-heads on this one and it’s a good bet that their top decision makers are unaware of the true scope of GMOs in American food. Although I know they are owned by Albrecht, a German company… it’s just such a mystery. I told them flat in my email that unless they can be more transparent about their so-called non-GMO status, I would only buy certain products from them.
http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/03/20/grocers-say-no-gmo-salmon?cmpid=tpfood-eml-welcome.http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/10/01/food-babe-investigates-whole-foods/
Opps I did that wrong lets try again
http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/10/01/food-babe-investigates-whole-foods/
I also found another few sites such as the food inc. website talked about Trader Joes being a good place for non GMO products. I have to say that I did wonder but in doing some more research I am convinced they must be doing all they can to keep GMO foods out or their store. Also, I just wanted to show that Trader joes shouldn’t be the only store to point the finger at. Whole foods is a very expensive “Organic store that I would walk into and think everything in here is “safe” food. But they are shelving GMO products without telling people as well as selling products with msg and so forth.
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Several thoughts that occur to me are:
1) The big issue seems to be distrust because TJ’s won’t disclose who makes their products. While the “I won’t dignify that with a answer!” response does breed suspicions, I wonder if it is based on a) honoring a proprietary brand not wanting it known that you can get their same product for, say 20-40% less by getting a store brand or, b) the supplier they use may change as market prices do in order to keep their costs down.
2) As far as TJ’s not labeling their products as being GMO free, I wonder if that is a stance their legal department suggests they take based on the fact that, based on my understanding, a non-GMO source can at any time become tainted with GMO’s as they cross-pollinate. By the time it comes to be known, how much product did they sell labeled as GMO-free that wasn’t, risking lawsuits?
3) As to ConAgra/Ralcorp, my understanding is that even Whole Foods has given in to the Big Business/GMO behemoth as the Way of The World and acquiescing to just holding to their corner of the market; I presume with the hope that people’s choice will end up guiding market practices.
4) Their prices being lower could come from them not having the research and development costs that a proprietary brand shoulders, and, unlike the proprietary brand, they may not need the same profit margin per item since their margin is spread over a larger inventory.
Not being a farmer, producer or supplier, I don’t know; any/all of these make sense to me from my limited perspective. But if any are true, why don’t they say so?
thank you Jennifer very valid points with insightful info!
I’m in sacramento and shop at the TJs on Marconi Ave. My family were getting stomach aches so I traced the lot # of their milk to Clover in Sonoma County. I called and spoke to the head director to ask her if they fed their cows non gmo she said only if it is organic. I said why does Trader Joe’s claim that anything with their label is non gmo sourced? She said that they have to use GMO feed for their non organic milk it’s too too expensive. So I talked to Trader Joe’s; they called headquarters and they said that they can’t find any farmer that is non-gmo non-organic for the price. So for sure the milk is gmo fed cows with the Traders label, and that goes for the cheese and eggs in any store, even co-op stores, so anything with milk cheese or eggs that is not organic is gmo fed animals, unless it says 100% grass fed or non gmo verified it’s gmo. So that frozen cheese pizza with the Traders label is gmo fed too.
Only the organic cheese, eggs, and grass cheese is safe so even if prop 37 would have passed that non organic fed cow or chicken is not included. If it’s not organic or grass fed cheese milk or eggs don’t eat it. This issue escapes the rules no matter what. If you have to shop there buy only organic.
Strauss was selling organic milk that was gmo fed for awhile before they found out, then they posted a letter of apology on the milk shelves.
The organic corn chips gives stomach aches to many people I know so I sent in for a quality check on those. My answer was that they noted it at headquarters, but they need more people to complain first. Also their roast beef hash from Brazil had roaches in it; they sent someone to Brazil to investigate and found that the meat was tainted with lack of refrigeration, so that company shut down and rebuilt a new one. Then the hash had a better color to it but now it no longer is being sold.
I know all the people who work there and I’ve spent a lot of time sending emails and calls to headquarters through them about a lot of tricky labeled ingredients for 7 years.
So only buy organic and avoid soy and corn. Organic chickens are being fed organic corn and soy which gets contaminated off and on, so to be really safe buy grass fed cheese and meat, and non soy and corn fed chicken eggs. That is the level I have learned from years of researching the food store.
I have to wonder about the Trader Joe’s pizza because most of them come from Italy. According to what I have been reading, aren’t GMO’s banned from many of European countries? I started think about this after my posts. Trader Joes has alot of their products made in Europe, also they are a smaller chain which means they are not “mass producing” their labels, which to me means it is easier to source non GMO products for their private label. Again when I worked their many things were labeled when they were non GMO, but such labeling is no where in sight these days.
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Everyone on May 25th Join a march against monsanto near you! Can’t find one? ORGANIZE! We want labels and have the RIGHT TO KNOW!
I contacted trader joe’s about their statement on GMO’s and animal products and they basically said that they do not consider animal feed an ingredient. Here is what they said
“Thank you for your email. Animals that are not raised to organic standards can receive feed that contains gmo sourced ingredients. The only way to ensure an animal that produces, eggs, dairy, meat does not get gmo sourced feed is to purchase organic. We do not make any claims about the feed as it is not considered an ingredient.”
I responded back with more questions about their statement on gmo’s and never heard back….
I no longer trust trader joe’s and I am very upset that they claim their products as GMO free when not all of them are.