I thought I would share this note, as an example of the importance of the Web when it comes to customer communications. Right now there is a huge wave of concern over "pink slime", a beef additive that consists of gristle, connective tissue, and "fatty bits of leftover meat." Naturally no one wants to have this in their hamburgers or tacos, and consumers are justifiably concerned. I've been reading some of the coverage showing supermarkets falling over themselves to swear off pink slime, but noticed a name missing from the list: Trader Joe's.
That's funny. TJ's is big on quality. But they're not on that list. And when I searched the Trader Joes website and checked the "Customer Updates" page, there were many notes about food quality and sourcing issues, but nothing on pink slime (see screenshot below). Was Trader Joe's hiding something?
So I emailed the company and quickly received a reply. Here's Trader Joe's statement about pink slime:
Thank you for taking the time to contact us about the "pink slime" issue. Our ground beef is 100% pure beef with nothing added. Please be reassured that this is not something that would be permitted in our products-- NO pink slime in any of our beef (or any of our products with beef listed in the ingredients). We stand buy our integrity and our dedication to our customers.
At Trader Joe's, food safety is of the utmost importance, and we take seriously the work done to ensure our products are wholesome and safe; after all, we're customers, too - and we would not sell anything we would not eat, drink, or use ourselves. Therefore, we only work with reputable suppliers, many of which are actually generally much smaller in comparison to other markets, just so that we can ensure the quality and integrity of our products. We also have third party audits of our products and vendor facilities to ensure that our standards are met.
It was signed "Kerry, Customer Relations".
I bothered to email the company, but how many people didn't bother, and/or assumed because there is no statement on the website or in the media, TJs does add pink slime?
Clear, up-front communication is a must in cases like these. It's vital to get the statement on the website and out to the media and bloggers covering the issue ... or risk your reputation and sales suffering as a result.
Update: Trader Joe's finally updated the website on March 26 with a statement about ground beef, probably a week or two after they started hearing from customers (I had emailed them 4 days before). It took them that long to write a 100 word statement and post it to the Web? Ridiculous.
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1. You should have worded your inquiry as "lean finely textured beef" (LFTB) and not just ask if they use pink slime. Though we all know what pink slime is, it could also mean a melted crayon.
ReplyDelete2. When I open the Trader Joe's package it has the tell-tale smell of ammonia.
3. Presently, in 2015, there is more "lean finely textured beef" (LFTB) being used than ever before. Someone is using it. Nobody is admitting it. Check the smell.
I looked this up after making burgers twice with TJ ground beef and am unable to cook the beef long enough to remove the pink, slimy/gaggy middle that I've never seen in the middle of burger before. The burgers that cooked longer than should have made them charred through out still gave a red, slimey center. I've been a professional cook for decades and never saw any ground beef like that.
ReplyDeleteI cooked my TJ Ground Beef (Bought in Washington State) today Jan 5. Package says good to Jan 15 (Freeze by date). I cooked it 20 minutes and it was still red and stringy as posted in the comment above. I just too Charcoal in case it is tainted with bacteria. So weird. I have not encountered this before either. Thought it might be some kind of food dye, or perhaps Carbon Monoxide or something else. Bottom line I will NOT be purchasing any meat products at Trader Joes in the future.
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