Trader Joes
| Rating |  |
| Farm/Brand Headquarters | Monrovia, CA |
| Products | Chicken, turkey, processed meat |
| Website | www.traderjoes.com/ |
| Market Area | Nationwide |
| Total Score | 0 |
Store brands include poultry products that have been privately labeled by grocery chains. Typically, these businesses buy products wholesale and then market those finished or packaged products with their own labels.
The inherent problem with private labels is that they lack transparency. Store brands may get their meat from highly rated producers, but they are more likely to source from factory-scale producers because of the price difference. Grocery chains or distributors typically offer low prices for store brands because they source the cheapest products available on the market at any given time. This variability in product sourcing makes it difficult, sometimes impossible, for consumers to determine where and how the products was produced.
Cornucopia recommends caution with store brands like this one. Invested consumers can contact stores to confirm who is supplying their poultry products and encourage them to be completely transparent about their sourcing—even when it changes.
| Criteria | Points | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| TOTAL (possible score is 1800) | 0 | 1-Bird Rating | Poor |
Family Farms and cooperatives receive the most points. Corporations and companies with poor or negligible farm oversight receive the fewest points. Ownership structure | 0 | Private label/store brand |
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100% organic brands receive the most points. Split operations receive fewer with increased penalties for poor segregation at the processor and farm level. Dedication to Organic Production | 0 | No dedication to organics |
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Farms that participated in Cornucopia’s research providing full transparency receive the most points. Transparency and Disclosure | 0 | Like all private label brands, Trader Joe's was non-responsive in our investigation |
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Points determined by integrity of the brand’s organic certifier. Organic Certifier | 0 | No response |
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To receive full points, flocks must number 500 birds or fewer (200 for turkeys). Flock size | 0 | Suppliers likely have large flock sizes |
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No more than 1.5 lbs of bird per square foot is required for full points. Stocking Density | 0 | Suppliers likely have poor stocking density |
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Mobile housing receives the highest number of points. Housing Style | 0 | Suppliers likely use static barns |
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Heritage varieties receive the highest number of points. Strain and/or Breed and Slaughter Age | 0 | No response; likely cornish cross |
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Birds must spend 3/4ths or more of their lives outdoors for full points. Timing for Outdoor Access | 0 | No response |
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Enrichments include but are not limited to shade structures, water, novel feedstuff (greens, mealworms, sprouted grains), and dust baths. Enrichments (outdoor and indoor) | 0 | No response |
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Points awarded for labels that go above and beyond organic. Other Labels/Standards | 0 | No response |
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Maximum points given for high quality, rotated pasture. Non-rotated pasture adjacent to fixed housing with lower than 90% vegetative cover receives fewer points. Outdoor Management | 0 | No response |
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100 points for on-farm production and/or milling of feed. Fewest points given to feed that cannot be verified as domestic and/or birds get poor or no supplementation from outdoor foraging. Feed Sourcing | 0 | No response |
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Methionine needs met by outdoor foraging receives 100 points. Synthetic supplementation receives 70 points. Synthetic Methionine | 0 | No response |
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Under 5% cull and death rate required for full points. Cull/death Rate | 0 | No response |
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Chicks and poults that are certified organic since hatching, or are hatched on-farm receive 100 points. Off-farm or conventional chicks and poults receive 70 points. Chick and Poult Sourcing | 0 | Likely conventional sourcing |
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No physical alterations required for full points. Permitting beak tipping results in fewer points. Physical Alterations | 0 | Suppliers likely use common physical alterations (such as beak trimming) |
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Measures farm oversight. Farmer owned brands, or daily visits by management required for maximum points. Farm Support | 0 | No response; no close relationship with farmers |
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Non-scoring, category provided for information only. Slaughter Method (non-scoring) | Unknown | |
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Non-scoring, category provided for information only. Soy Free Ration? (non-scoring) | No | |
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Maximum transparency, sharing of the organic systems plan, and/or novel practices that sets the brand apart from the rest of the industry can result in extra credit points. Extra Credit | 0 | None |
