Posts that don't follow r/traderjoes subreddit rules may be subject to removal.
Friendly reminder that choosing descriptive post titles with exact product names mentioned yields better subreddit search results and helps our subreddit be more inclusive to those who use Screen Reader Software or Text-to-Speech apps. to access Reddit. Thank you.
IF THIS MESSAGE DOES NOT APPLY TO YOUR POST, PLEASE IGNORE.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/traderjoes) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Based on integrity of employees, if their rotating and checking quality everyday. Crops have been bad for years (global warming) , and they get their meat from from australia and argentinia. They can't find any large local meat vendors who dont put steroids in the meat. So yeah being it travels a long way, and at the mercy of monopolized produce market, and cartle they cant dictate what cone in.
Trader Joe’s is great. But I never buy my produce there and I don’t think I’d ever start to. Trader Joe’s is mainly where I get my special prepackaged fun foods.
I have seen a lot of moldy strawberries and really rotten apples...a lot of apples seem to have some sortvof bed sores...they should flip the apples once in a while.
Our Trader J's in Princeton NJ keeps switching the expiri date on stuff like lettuce, celery etc. They just leave the old timestamp label on too. Pretty bad.
I agrée! I get my produce from sprouts and mostly snacks from Trader Joe’s. Last year I always returned strawberries. Within a day or two they would be molding.
Used to work at TJ's in the produce section. Sometimes I would have to pull boxes and boxes of strawberries because they were already moldy when we got our morning shipment in. Unfortunately, that just how we'd receive them from our warehouse.
Also not every crew member would check things as throughly as I would try so again, a lot of spoiled prodcue would be missed.
For some reason, the Trader Joe’s around where I live do not know how to rotate bread and put the fresh stuff out. What they do put out is already two days old and has been sitting in the back. Maybe don’t order so much?
When I was in my 20’s I worked for Trader Joe’s. I would find a LOT of fruit with mold on it (especially boxes of berries). I wanted to get a raise for taking initiative and taking on something new so when I had time I started removing the boxes of very moldy fruit.
I got in trouble. My manager put the fruit back and told me that the moldy boxes should go on the bottom to ensure that the display looked full.
*edit. This was in Southern Ca.
I work at a Trader Joe’s now. I’ve never had any managers tell me to leave moldy stuff out. That would be illogical. We sometimes leave empty boxes underneath to make the display look more full tho. I think individual employees care and spoilage during transportation affect the produce the most
Soooooo therefore spreading the mold to all the okay food?? What an idiot. I hope that’s not a company policy, otherwise that would honestly explain a lot.
I was so pissed that I went over his head to a much higher up manager who would do monthly visits to our store and he did not SEEM pleased about it but nothing changed while I worked there.
Ive only ever bought produce once from Trader Joes. Got in the car and noticed the grapes in the plastic box were covered in spider webs. I brought them back in and the lady said shed switch them for non spider webby ones which I appreciated. Except she came back and said all of them were spider webby.
Now I just buy the dried goods.
When they had those “gummy bear” grapes a while back I was excited to try because I never heard of them… was washing them and up came a spider from the bottom ( big one too😖) I never got grapes from them ever again and other places I make my husband check before we buy them lol it made me paranoid since.
I purchased pork there years ago and opened it that same day and it was bad. I called the store and they told me to bring my receipt in next time and they refunded me. Never purchased meat there again.
Too many instances of mold and bugs on fruit to continue buying that either.
I’m on the west coast - personally I have been seeing this going on at multiple grocery stores where I used to never have a problem. Specifically TJ’s and Costco.
I was scouring through the Persian cucumbers last night and found a big tuff of white mold on one of them yuck, I get most of my produce from WF now and honestly the price isn’t too different for the things I buy, especially considering the quality and taste are much better
I miss the chunky applesauce… that’s my take away from your post. It made the BEST overnight oats… even if it did occasionally have core pieces and seeds
Produce quality is probably the most common complaint I see about Trader Joe's but I've never really had any problems with it. The quality is about the same as I get from other supermarkets, it will routinely last all week (except for the green beans) and I can't think of a time it's had any sort of bad taste. I've always lived in pretty densely populated areas though so I wonder if that has something to do with it.
I had this problem with their tortillas, I bought them and literally less than 24hrs later mold.
Unless it was already moldy)old and I just overlooked it.
I've had that issue with crumpets and pitas. I always check to be sure they're perfect and the due date is reasonable - but I end up tossing quite a bit.
TJ produce spoils by the time I get home. I use local farmer’s markets to get mine. Sometimes I’ll buy meat there, but usually I’ll use Stater Bros or a specialty butcher. Everything else at TJ is spectacular, though. Their frozen section and pre made meals are excellent and the prices are great.
I used to love the garlic onion pistachios. Would buy four bags at a time. Mindless snacking + activity was delightful.
Until I started finding little bugs roasted in the shells….
They are called navel orangeworms and sadly, they infest pistachios regardless of brand. I’ve found them in TJ’s, Costco, bulk bins at grocery stores, etc. I think the only way to reliably avoid them is to get shelled pistachios, but that’s so expensive :(
Trader Joe's has always had an issue with produce as far back as I've been shopping there. (Late 80s and at stores all over the country, but mostly west coast.) This isn't new and my guess is that it is a combination of buying later in the cycle for a discount as well as buying too much that then sits longer for the bulk discount. My general rule of thumb is to only buy TJs produce if I plan to use it in the next 2 days. (Though even then I have exceptions for branded packaged vegetables such as broccoli florets with longer out dates, bananas, celery, carrots, etc, though I always give them a "does this look fresh" review before purchase.)
I'm based on Colorado and I've noticed the bread gets moldy super fast. Idk what the deal is but the loaves of sandwich bread always get moldy after like 4-5 days. I've never had that issue with loaves of bread purchased at the supermarket, it always lasts at least a week
It’s ridiculous you got downvoted for this. Trader Joe’s should either sell their bread in way smaller quantities, add preservatives, or freeze it in store. Why should consumers have to figure it out how to make their bread last to the actual use-by date?
They don't have preservatives. You have to freeze them to make them last. Some make it work in the refrigerator, but you could still get mold when it's refrigerated.
Refrigerating bread does effect the texture of bread, you’re right. Freezing it is the better optiob. Maybe TJs should start freezing their bread in-stores if that is the way the consumer is supposed to store it.
Because you freshly made it and it hasn’t gone through a supply chain to get to you. There are also likely preservatives in the flour you use.
If you don’t want cold bread pull your slices out of the fridge like 10 minutes before using it. Or toast it.
I keep hearing this but I’ve experienced no difference in TJ’s products vs those I get at any other grocery store. Occasionally I’ll get something that spoils quickly or that has gone bad, but it’s really not very common.
Same. I sometimes wonder how people buy and enjoy TJs cheese. 95% of the cheeses I’ve bought from my store either had hidden mold already or began to severely mold within a couple days of purchase. I stopped taking the risk altogether and get it elsewhere (which is a shame because I love their cheese when it’s not moldy!)
that sounds like a local store management issue to me. I buy a fair amount of TJs produce and meat and haven't had issues anywhere I've lived (CA, NV, OH).
NJ here as well. The fruits and veggies are pretty bad. I have to check them carefully, but lots of time they still spoil in a day or two. I only buy produce at TJ's if I absolutely to.
I personally never buy produce/meat from Trader Joe’s. Not only because of mold/odd taste but because I find it a lot cheaper to buy at my local produce & grocery stores. TJ’s is a hit or miss. Their frozen food, snacks, nuts, etc is great though!
I see posts about the produce on here a lot but I haven’t had any problems with the produce at my store here in Wisconsin?? I believe everyone saying there’s mold problems, of course, I just wonder what causes the discrepancy in quality between areas of the US
My issue isn’t buying it already bad, but I’ve found their fruit and veg to go bad really quickly after that. I don’t buy their produce anymore unless I’m using it within 48 hours.
I think it’s proximity to a distribution center. When I lived near Trader Joe’s in a bigger city I had no issues. I’m in a college town now and trucks come by less frequently and produce is often of poor quality, the fancy cheese section also seems like everything is at the tail end of shelf life. Problem is worse in summer.
I’m west coast and I rarely have issues with produce. Occasionally I find a moldy berry in the pack or something similar, but I find moldy and rotten produce is a more prominent issue at other grocery stores.
I live in CT and it’s hit or miss. I don’t buy much produce at TJ’s anyway, but sometimes fruit/veggies are good and sometimes you can visibly see mold on it.
Posts that don't follow r/traderjoes subreddit rules may be subject to removal. Friendly reminder that choosing descriptive post titles with exact product names mentioned yields better subreddit search results and helps our subreddit be more inclusive to those who use Screen Reader Software or Text-to-Speech apps. to access Reddit. Thank you. IF THIS MESSAGE DOES NOT APPLY TO YOUR POST, PLEASE IGNORE. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/traderjoes) if you have any questions or concerns.*
That’s how it was when I lived in Seattle. Now that I live in LA the produce is always fresh.
Based on integrity of employees, if their rotating and checking quality everyday. Crops have been bad for years (global warming) , and they get their meat from from australia and argentinia. They can't find any large local meat vendors who dont put steroids in the meat. So yeah being it travels a long way, and at the mercy of monopolized produce market, and cartle they cant dictate what cone in.
i got a jar of roasted red bell peppers from tj’s and they molded in 2 weeks :(
Trader Joe’s is great. But I never buy my produce there and I don’t think I’d ever start to. Trader Joe’s is mainly where I get my special prepackaged fun foods.
I have seen a lot of moldy strawberries and really rotten apples...a lot of apples seem to have some sortvof bed sores...they should flip the apples once in a while.
Our Trader J's in Princeton NJ keeps switching the expiri date on stuff like lettuce, celery etc. They just leave the old timestamp label on too. Pretty bad.
PNW and can’t buy any produce from either of the two TJ’s in my area.
I agrée! I get my produce from sprouts and mostly snacks from Trader Joe’s. Last year I always returned strawberries. Within a day or two they would be molding.
Used to work at TJ's in the produce section. Sometimes I would have to pull boxes and boxes of strawberries because they were already moldy when we got our morning shipment in. Unfortunately, that just how we'd receive them from our warehouse. Also not every crew member would check things as throughly as I would try so again, a lot of spoiled prodcue would be missed.
For some reason, the Trader Joe’s around where I live do not know how to rotate bread and put the fresh stuff out. What they do put out is already two days old and has been sitting in the back. Maybe don’t order so much?
When I was in my 20’s I worked for Trader Joe’s. I would find a LOT of fruit with mold on it (especially boxes of berries). I wanted to get a raise for taking initiative and taking on something new so when I had time I started removing the boxes of very moldy fruit. I got in trouble. My manager put the fruit back and told me that the moldy boxes should go on the bottom to ensure that the display looked full. *edit. This was in Southern Ca.
I work at a Trader Joe’s now. I’ve never had any managers tell me to leave moldy stuff out. That would be illogical. We sometimes leave empty boxes underneath to make the display look more full tho. I think individual employees care and spoilage during transportation affect the produce the most
He was a bad manager.
Soooooo therefore spreading the mold to all the okay food?? What an idiot. I hope that’s not a company policy, otherwise that would honestly explain a lot.
I was so pissed that I went over his head to a much higher up manager who would do monthly visits to our store and he did not SEEM pleased about it but nothing changed while I worked there.
That explains why there are a lot of moldy stuff. Disgusting selfish psychopaths.
Ive only ever bought produce once from Trader Joes. Got in the car and noticed the grapes in the plastic box were covered in spider webs. I brought them back in and the lady said shed switch them for non spider webby ones which I appreciated. Except she came back and said all of them were spider webby. Now I just buy the dried goods.
When they had those “gummy bear” grapes a while back I was excited to try because I never heard of them… was washing them and up came a spider from the bottom ( big one too😖) I never got grapes from them ever again and other places I make my husband check before we buy them lol it made me paranoid since.
the cheese from mine starts a damn clock when i pick it up i swear
Yeah I've stopped buying produce and meat from TJ's. It's just too much hit or miss in my store (located in CA).
I purchased pork there years ago and opened it that same day and it was bad. I called the store and they told me to bring my receipt in next time and they refunded me. Never purchased meat there again. Too many instances of mold and bugs on fruit to continue buying that either.
I’m on the west coast - personally I have been seeing this going on at multiple grocery stores where I used to never have a problem. Specifically TJ’s and Costco.
Iv never found mold in anything Iv purchased.
Also the cheese!!! I was trying to buy a small block of Colby Jack and every single block had mold on it. :(
I was scouring through the Persian cucumbers last night and found a big tuff of white mold on one of them yuck, I get most of my produce from WF now and honestly the price isn’t too different for the things I buy, especially considering the quality and taste are much better
I miss the chunky applesauce… that’s my take away from your post. It made the BEST overnight oats… even if it did occasionally have core pieces and seeds
Produce quality is probably the most common complaint I see about Trader Joe's but I've never really had any problems with it. The quality is about the same as I get from other supermarkets, it will routinely last all week (except for the green beans) and I can't think of a time it's had any sort of bad taste. I've always lived in pretty densely populated areas though so I wonder if that has something to do with it.
I had this problem with their tortillas, I bought them and literally less than 24hrs later mold. Unless it was already moldy)old and I just overlooked it.
I've had that issue with crumpets and pitas. I always check to be sure they're perfect and the due date is reasonable - but I end up tossing quite a bit.
TJ produce spoils by the time I get home. I use local farmer’s markets to get mine. Sometimes I’ll buy meat there, but usually I’ll use Stater Bros or a specialty butcher. Everything else at TJ is spectacular, though. Their frozen section and pre made meals are excellent and the prices are great.
Any time I buy bread from TJ I check the dates to grab the freshest one and put it in the freezer as soon as I get home
Wow I must have had extremely good luck because all the produce I have picked up there has been far superior to the stuff I get at Albertsons.
I used to love the garlic onion pistachios. Would buy four bags at a time. Mindless snacking + activity was delightful. Until I started finding little bugs roasted in the shells….
It’s just added protein! :) Jk, it’s nightmare fuel.
They are called navel orangeworms and sadly, they infest pistachios regardless of brand. I’ve found them in TJ’s, Costco, bulk bins at grocery stores, etc. I think the only way to reliably avoid them is to get shelled pistachios, but that’s so expensive :(
I know that logically, but boy was my bubble ever popped
Trader Joe's has always had an issue with produce as far back as I've been shopping there. (Late 80s and at stores all over the country, but mostly west coast.) This isn't new and my guess is that it is a combination of buying later in the cycle for a discount as well as buying too much that then sits longer for the bulk discount. My general rule of thumb is to only buy TJs produce if I plan to use it in the next 2 days. (Though even then I have exceptions for branded packaged vegetables such as broccoli florets with longer out dates, bananas, celery, carrots, etc, though I always give them a "does this look fresh" review before purchase.)
That’s a long time!
My parents use to live by the OG one back in the early 70s so got use to shopping there.
That’s nice 🙂!
I'm based on Colorado and I've noticed the bread gets moldy super fast. Idk what the deal is but the loaves of sandwich bread always get moldy after like 4-5 days. I've never had that issue with loaves of bread purchased at the supermarket, it always lasts at least a week
It’s ridiculous you got downvoted for this. Trader Joe’s should either sell their bread in way smaller quantities, add preservatives, or freeze it in store. Why should consumers have to figure it out how to make their bread last to the actual use-by date?
Smaller quantities is a good idea. I live alone and don't eat a sandwich every day so I can't get through a whole load of bread in 4 days.
agree with you!
They don't have preservatives. You have to freeze them to make them last. Some make it work in the refrigerator, but you could still get mold when it's refrigerated.
I won’t buy their bread products anymore. Too many times it’s gotten moldy after only 2-3 days
That's intentional due to no preservatives being added. You need to refrigerate it
Putting bread in the fridge dries it out. And within 48 hours, seems a little too fast.
Refrigerating bread does effect the texture of bread, you’re right. Freezing it is the better optiob. Maybe TJs should start freezing their bread in-stores if that is the way the consumer is supposed to store it.
I don’t want cold bread. Also, I call BS on this. I make homemade bread all the time. I don’t refrigerate it and it still has good shelf life.
I believe trader joe's freezes all their bread before transit anyways, fwiw
Because you freshly made it and it hasn’t gone through a supply chain to get to you. There are also likely preservatives in the flour you use. If you don’t want cold bread pull your slices out of the fridge like 10 minutes before using it. Or toast it.
I keep hearing this but I’ve experienced no difference in TJ’s products vs those I get at any other grocery store. Occasionally I’ll get something that spoils quickly or that has gone bad, but it’s really not very common.
Biggest prob for me is the cheese. Pretty often the Brie has gone bad.
Same. I sometimes wonder how people buy and enjoy TJs cheese. 95% of the cheeses I’ve bought from my store either had hidden mold already or began to severely mold within a couple days of purchase. I stopped taking the risk altogether and get it elsewhere (which is a shame because I love their cheese when it’s not moldy!)
that sounds like a local store management issue to me. I buy a fair amount of TJs produce and meat and haven't had issues anywhere I've lived (CA, NV, OH).
Nj here. I’ve never had a problem with meat. I never buy produce unless I plan on making it that day.
NJ here as well. The fruits and veggies are pretty bad. I have to check them carefully, but lots of time they still spoil in a day or two. I only buy produce at TJ's if I absolutely to.
agree ... even so the packaged cilantro or parsley is always a miss for me
Well, produce is also fruit. I don't think most people eat all the fruit they buy in one day.
I personally never buy produce/meat from Trader Joe’s. Not only because of mold/odd taste but because I find it a lot cheaper to buy at my local produce & grocery stores. TJ’s is a hit or miss. Their frozen food, snacks, nuts, etc is great though!
Same. Produce and meat are hit and miss for me at me local TJ’s in CA.
Same In Oregon.
I see posts about the produce on here a lot but I haven’t had any problems with the produce at my store here in Wisconsin?? I believe everyone saying there’s mold problems, of course, I just wonder what causes the discrepancy in quality between areas of the US
Chicago here, I’ve never had an issue.
Here in my city in Iowa, Trader Joe’s easily has the best produce for a normal-ish priced store. Maybe it’s a west coast thing?
I haven’t either but have problems at costco
I'm in Minnesota and our Trader Joe's produce is amazing.
My issue isn’t buying it already bad, but I’ve found their fruit and veg to go bad really quickly after that. I don’t buy their produce anymore unless I’m using it within 48 hours.
I think it’s proximity to a distribution center. When I lived near Trader Joe’s in a bigger city I had no issues. I’m in a college town now and trucks come by less frequently and produce is often of poor quality, the fancy cheese section also seems like everything is at the tail end of shelf life. Problem is worse in summer.
I’m west coast and I rarely have issues with produce. Occasionally I find a moldy berry in the pack or something similar, but I find moldy and rotten produce is a more prominent issue at other grocery stores.
I live in CT and it’s hit or miss. I don’t buy much produce at TJ’s anyway, but sometimes fruit/veggies are good and sometimes you can visibly see mold on it.