Paging Polly

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 2:14 pm

Hi Polly,

Have you heard from Trader Joe's regarding their turkey broth ingredients? I picked up a carton when I was there recently and am wondering if it's OK. I thought I'd bring it to Utah next week if it is.

Gloria

MaggieRedwings · Post by **MaggieRedwings** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 4:54 am

Morning Gloria,

Not Polly here but I do know that Kitchen Basics turkey broth is absolutely fine for me. It also comes in a smaller box (8 oz. I think) which would make it easier to carry.

Love, Maggie

Polly · Post by **Polly** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 6:24 am

Hi Gloria,

No, they never got back to me. No surprise, right? I will try to send an email through their website - I couldn't find a phone number but maybe I missed it. It's the "natural flavoring" I am suspicious of.

Hi Maggie!

I haven't checked Kitchen Basics for turkey broth but will. For some reason I think there is something in their products I react to - maybe yeast???

Love,

Polly

MaggieRedwings · Post by **MaggieRedwings** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 12:52 pm

Hi Polly,

Attached is a link where you can get their ingredients per label. Did not see anything in the turkey but then again like me, we both have a lot of intolerances.

http://www.kitchenbasics.net/display.cfm?p=18&pp=4

Love, Maggie

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 6:33 pm

Hi Maggie,

I can't do the Kitchen Basics turkey stock because it contains chicken broth. I still have boxes of Kitchen Basics chicken and beef broth that I bought before I had the MRT test. I keep hoping DH will become interested in having soup from them.

Polly,

I just sent a request about the natural flavors, too. I'll let you know if they respond.

Gloria

sarkin · Post by **sarkin** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:49 pm

So glad we had this thread today. My husband bought another brand of stock today, and after a brief check of the ingredients list, I suggested we not use it this evening. I'm hoping to build a little business-card sized thing he can carry in his wallet of the the ingredients I'm leery of (at the moment). And hoping this won't be the thing that pushes him over into needing reading glasses ;)

Gloria, I am still pricing chest freezers, but for stock, I think it's time for me to take up canning. I just like my stock better, and to have enough to be useful would take a lot of space, plus electricity...

Sara

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 9:00 pm

Sara,

Yes, I have taken to canning my turkey broth. I've also canned some turkey, which requires 1 hr, 15 minutes processing time - whew! I have several jars of both, but I'm leery about taking a jar on the plane to Utah. I guess I could take my chances with the Trader Joe's carton and see if I react.

Gloria

sarkin · Post by **sarkin** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 9:15 pm

Thanks, Gloria - that's useful to know about the timing on canning turkey. I am feeling my busy season coming up and really wishing I had more time to stock the pantry - and definitely feeling my inner control freak wanting to have a lot to say about my ingredients!

I have had luck packing glass jars within sweaters deep in luggage, but - luck is as fickle as Norman. Ironically, we brought a HUGE quantity of hot sauce back from Belize safely (the best, it's amazing). Not even 100th on my list of things to attempt eating! I also safely brought back a bottle of liqueur made from a fruit - I don't even know what fruit. Super interesting, as a plant-nerd... and about 999th on my list of things to try! All that unbroken glass... pretty funny.

In your shoes I'd probably bring a jar, and pack to protect both the jar itself, and my other belongings, in case the jar didn't make it... favoring my clothing & other belongings. But, apparently, I am sometimes willing to push my luck ;)

Wish you a safe trip in every sense,

Sara

Polly · Post by **Polly** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 6:20 am

Gloria,

I'm glad you contacted them - I forgot to yesterday. Let me know if you hear anything.

Polly

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 4:23 pm

Polly,

This was their response:

Thank you for contacting us. Can you please send us your allergies and
we will verify any shared allergens or ingredients?

Thank you for shopping with Trader Joe's.

Send them a list of my allergies? Where do I begin? I don't like that response - it's putting me on the hook and letting them off the hook.

Gloria

Polly · Post by **Polly** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 4:44 pm

Gloria,

I have gotten that same response at times too. It's almost like they are afraid we are going to steal their trade secrets. Or, do you think it's just laziness or ignorance?

Polly

TooManyHats · Post by **TooManyHats** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 5:01 pm

When I write to them initially I usually tell them I need to know for health reasons. That's unbelievable!

sarkin · Post by **sarkin** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 5:02 pm

Gloria - very well said.

I believe you should send them:

- a list of your 'allergies'
- an explanation that 'allergies' isn't the whole story, in as much detail as you have time/inclination for
- a further request for a detailed listing of those ingredients, as your experience has taught you that the only way you can be confident their products is for you to review this list yourself
- a friendly tip that you will share this information with others who have multiple sensitivities... so TJ might understand that you'd be happy to have *every single one of us* write to them with this simple request, but you're trying to make this easier for everyone. Maybe include here the idea that some people have experienced changes in their sensitivities over time - that could mean that some people who have been avoiding a TJ product might be able to try it again when they've retested the ingredients... and vice versa.
- perhaps a copy of that nice response you got from the almond butter folks as an example

I'd be happy to draft some parts of this for you, if you're not itching for a fight. I have a knack for a gracious poison-pen letter. And I would start with exactly what you said:

Gloria wrote: I don't like that response - it's putting me on the hook and letting them off the hook.
Gloria

If they don't improve on their response (which may be sort of generic, though Polly's laziness/fear suggestions are quite plausible), I volunteer to write to them very nicely, with the same request. I would refer to your inquiry, and mention that you and I share some, but not all sensitivities, and then list mine ;) I don't think they were trying to be unhelpful, and I think it's wonderful they try to make gluten-free shopping possible. It would be nice if that solved the whole problem.

Gosh, I'm quite the crank this evening - I stayed out of the 'insurance' thread today because it triggered my pugnacity. Apparently that excess energy was bound to pop up somewhere. (My husband should thank you all for putting up with this - otherwise, it no doubt would have been his turn!)

--Sara

TooManyHats · Post by **TooManyHats** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 5:12 pm

Post by **tex** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 8:59 pm

Here's how I see this issue, and why it can be such a thorny problem for the food industry:

Industrial espionage is real, especially in a growing market such as developing products that cater to food sensitivities. TJ is very vulnerable, not just because they obviously have a winning combination, with an overall large market share for many excellent GF products, but because they're Trader Joe's, so all of their competitors know that they know what works, and what doesn't work, and most of their competitors would do just about anything to steal some of their success, and capitalize on it.

If I were being paid to steal the secrets of some of those winning recipes, I would probably start by posing as a customer with food sensitivities, innocently asking about the type and source of ingredients in certain products. Even if TJ's dietitians, (or PR people), were naive enough to trust someone asking about those ingredients, the power of the internet makes revealing such secrets extremely risky, because they are well aware that any information they share, will probably appear on someone's Facebook page, or Twitter, or a discussion board. Either way, even though the information was innocently collected, with the best of intentions, as soon as it is posted on the internet, anyone in the world can, (and will), access it, and make use of the information, if they possibly can. Anyone in the business of collecting trade secrets will have computer bots crawling all over the web, searching for such information, and "harvesting" it, 24x7.

See the problem? Besides, even if, (for some strange reason), they don't realize the risk, the trained personnel who respond to such requests for information almost surely feel that they know more about allergies and food sensitivities than the average consumer, and they are almost certainly correct. In that respect, the members of this board are in a completely different league, but the people answering e-mails and phone calls have no way of knowing that.

At least that's how I see it.

Tex