Caving to xenophobia, Trader Joe’s announced that it will purge its shelves of all single-ingredient Chinese products by January 1. Will consumers be any safer?

No. The company readily admits that the move is largely symbolic.

“We feel confident that all of our products from China meet the same high quality standards that we set for all of our products,” the statement read. “However, our customers have voiced their concerns about products from this region and we have listened.

“We will continue to source products from other regions until our customers feel as confident as we do about the quality and safety of Chinese products.”

The Chinese Poison Train rarely fells single-ingredient products, preferring to instead grace constituent ingredients like wheat gluten. Though the announcement – the first of its kind among major retailers – will not make consumers any safer, it is the most pernicious indication yet of consumers skepticism towards foreign goods.

Whole Foods has no plans to implement a similar ban.

Trader Joe’s just says no to China [Chicago Sun-Times]
(Photo: Getty Images)

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