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Is the U.S. food safety system really all that safe?

Mar 19, 2024
The Food and Drug Administration oversees about 80% of our food supply, and facility inspections are few and far between.
Trader Joe's is known for eclectic products sourced from smaller producers. Landman says these smaller producers may not have as high quality assurance standards at their facilities, resulting in more recalls.
Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Labor movement adds union members store by store

Aug 26, 2022
A Chipotle in Michigan and an REI in California are the latest to continue a trend defined by Starbucks.
A rally supporting a Starbucks union in Seattle in April. Experts say the close relationships in small workplaces can facilitate union organizing.
Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images

How store brands went from shamed to chic

Aug 17, 2022
Once seen as low quality and unattractive, generics have undergone a makeover to private-label "exclusive."
"Often the consumers don’t think of the Trader Joe's private label as a private label," says Dartmouth professor Kusum Ailawadi. "They think of it as exclusive products that I can’t find anywhere."
Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

How Charles Shaw wine became Two Buck Chuck

Apr 18, 2017
It wasn't always cheap, and it wasn't always sold by Trader Joe's.
Wikimedia Commons

German grocer Aldi expands all the way to California

Mar 25, 2016
Germany's largest grocer brings its discount model to California.
 People walk out of Whole Foods Market in the Brooklyn borough on May 7, 2014 in New York City. Whole Foods Market.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Can you copyright a cookie?

Dec 8, 2015
Pepperidge Farm is suing Trader Joe's over cookies that look a lot like Milanos.

For public good, not for profit.

Former Trader Joe's CEO dies but legacy lives on

Nov 7, 2014
Ex Trader Joe’s boss John V. Shields died recently. His strategies transformed the California supermarket chain into a national powerhouse.