Trader Joe's to remove some Chinese food products

From their shelves:

Trader Joe's is taking some of its Chinese food off the menu.

The Monrovia-based grocery store chain, known for its selection of budget gourmet and ethnic offerings, said Monday that it would phase out the sale of single-ingredient items -- such as garlic and spinach -- that are imported from China.

"Our customers have voiced their concerns about products from this region and we have listened," the company said in a statement.

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In the last year, imports from China have been under increased scrutiny because of a string of discoveries of tainted goods from that country.

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Food safety experts said there was cause for concern. They cited the application in China of excess or dangerous pesticides, improper use of sewage for fertilizer and the use of illegal antibiotics in seafood farming.

"China also still has a problem with corruption," said Jaydee Hanson, a policy analyst for the Center for Food Safety in Washington.

Since last year U.S. regulators have restricted Chinese imports of shrimp, eel and catfish because they were found to have unacceptable amounts of antibiotics and other chemical residues. Last summer California health officials warned people not to eat fresh ginger from China after samples were found to contain a toxic pesticide.

China is the sixth-leading supplier of agricultural products to the U.S. Including seafood, 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.

Trader Joe's, which has about 300 stores around the country, plans to phase out any single-ingredient food items sourced from mainland China by April 1. It will replace the goods with "products from other regions until our customers feel as confident as we do about the quality and safety of Chinese products," the statement said.

The company will continue to stock products that include Chinese ingredients. Shoppers haven't complained about those, a spokeswoman said.

Not yet, at any rate. But I'm putting back the cans that show they are from China if I have any choice. Reading about what China has done even after the first food scandals hit shows their learning curve is non-existent. Look at how they've decided declaring themselves kosher would help... and then being unable to get their minds around the fact kosher demands a certain process. Truth in advertising? Respect for the consumer? Making food that is not contaminated? Cultivating trust? Not by a long shot.

Maybe we should ask every Chinese food manufacturer read The Jungle.... as well as people in the White House...