Organic frozen veggies...from China?

[mikala]

I was reading the back of a bag of frozen organic broccoli from Costco while I was making dinner tonight and was a bit startled to see that it came from China. I got a little curious and started looking at other frozen veggies. Edamame, chopped mixed veggies, peas...all from China.

Did I miss a huge shift in our agricultural production or was this just a fluke? We try to buy local and have a CSA share but rely on a lot of frozen veggies in the winter. I tend to buy a lot of organic but I'm not sure if organic is worth shipping food around the world.

[catsnkid]

I believe baby mum mums are made in china too.. and organic

[mikala]

I believe baby mum mums are made in china too.. and organic

Yeah, Mum Mums are made in China too.

[MamaSnoo]

Just noticed DDs favorite organic mandarin oranges are MIC too. They are a real go to for me in the winter if the fridge is getting to be slim pickins.

My usual rule in the produce section is USA only, and we try for local when possible (CSA, etc). So, it is ironic to see so much foreign produce in our freezers/pantries.

[Katigre]

Many frozen vegetables (especially those sold through large grocery store chains or large brands like Cascadian Farms) are from China. I personally am uncomfortable with that and don't trust it to be truly organic b/c of groundwater contamination concerns, the way 'regulations' are followed there vs. here (which isn't great to begin with!), and the concern that if there are non-organic fields nearby there could be pesticide drift.

Trader Joe's vegetables don't seem to be from China (at least not the ones that I buy). I personally only do the 'dirty dozen' organic and conventional the rest too.

[brittone2]

Yep, I avoid the organic frozen veggies from China. I made the mistake with Costco once and then WFs once before realizing it.

[mikala]

Many frozen vegetables (especially those sold through large grocery store chains or large brands like Cascadian Farms) are from China. I personally am uncomfortable with that and don't trust it to be truly organic b/c of groundwater contamination concerns, the way 'regulations' are followed there vs. here (which isn't great to begin with!), and the concern that if there are non-organic fields nearby there could be pesticide drift.

Trader Joe's vegetables don't seem to be from China (at least not the ones that I buy). I personally only do the 'dirty dozen' organic and conventional the rest too.

Yeah, I'm also uncomfortable with groundwater and regulations there.

I'll check out Trader Joe's. I mostly try to do the dirty dozen organic but also try organic for things DS eats really often. As he eats a lot for his small size proportionally I'm concerned that any chemical residues would have a greater impact on his development.

Lesson learned, time to read more labels andit sounds like we may be freezing more of our CSA and garden veggies next year.

[mommylamb]

.

Trader Joe's vegetables don't seem to be from China (at least not the ones that I buy). I personally only do the 'dirty dozen' organic and conventional the rest too.

about a year or so ago TJ's stopped stocking the edamame I used to like. When I asked about it the manager said that it was MIC and that they were not going to stock MIC veggies any more. Not sure if that ever happened or what.

FTR, my beef with MIC is less the issue of whether something is truly organic, and more the issue of the transportation fuel used to bring something like veggies (which I'd rather get locally) all the way here.

[Smillow]

Just noticed DDs favorite organic mandarin oranges are MIC too. They are a real go to for me in the winter if the fridge is getting to be slim pickins.

Trader Joe's canned Mandarin Oranges are from Spain. We go through lots of these as well, especially now that fruit is less available locally.

[div_0305]

Some items from Trader Joes say they are from a number of countries including China. I do not buy those. One item (I can't remember which) had no country of origin info. so I didn't buy that either. I mean, if it was from the US, you know they'd be putting that on the bag. I've alerted a lot of people about Costco's frozen produce being from China. I hope enough people stop buying it and they re-source their veggies.

I also noticed that the pumpkin seeds I used to buy from Now Foods said "packaged in the US." I thought that sounded suspicious, so I called Now Foods, and after some haggling, the rep told me they were a product of China that were put in individual bags in the US! I wish our food safety rules would not allow this type of deceptive info.

[peanut520]

our costco organic mixed veggies are from watts brothers farms and they list as a product of usa. i was going to be extremely sad since they are dd's favorite snack and can go through a 5lb bag in 4-5 weeks herself.

[MamaSnoo]

Trader Joe's canned Mandarin Oranges are from Spain. We go through lots of these as well, especially now that fruit is less available locally.

Thanks for the tip. The ones we have had are from WF. TJ's is just more of a hike for me, and always way to crowded. But, I may need to make a pilgrimage.

I have an issue with the MIC both for the transporation reasons, and not fully trusting the organic sourcing. Mostly we do organic for the dirty dozen, but we also add in things that we eat a. lot. of. Spain would help with the transport issue some, I guess. Maybe mandarin oranges just are not produced in the US?

[YouAreTheFocus]

I just noticed this the other day as well. I kept flipping the bag over and back..."Made in China...Organic...Made in China...Organic." Doesn't compute for me.

[AnnieW625]

When it comes to this I just buy conventional. Most of my produce/fruit comes from the USA or Mexico. Bananas and grapes come from South America. I have no problem with the grapes coming from Chile because I am not huge on lots of fruit but I will eat grapes all of the time.

I also noticed that Brothers brand of products were produce from China. We finished the box but I was a little peeved I had spent $13 on fruit snacks that originated from China. I hope that most of the $13 I paid for the box went to QC of their product.

[AnnieW625]

Thanks for the tip. The ones we have had are from WF. TJ's is just more of a hike for me, and always way to crowded. But, I may need to make a pilgrimage.

I have an issue with the MIC both for the transporation reasons, and not fully trusting the organic sourcing. Mostly we do organic for the dirty dozen, but we also add in things that we eat a. lot. of. Spain would help with the transport issue some, I guess. Maybe mandarin oranges just are not produced in the US?

Mandarin oranges are best between late December and February which is the only time I buy them. I believe they are from California or Florida then, but now I am going to make sure that I double check. I don't care for the oranges the rest of the year as they are just too pithy.

This is the brand that I buy and are available in my area, which are from California:
Cuties (http://www.cutiescitrus.com/about/faqs)

[Katigre]

I have no problem with the grapes coming from Chile because I am not huge on lots of fruit but I will eat grapes all of the time.
FWIW, imported grapes (Chile) are one of the highest in pesticide fruits out there - so if you eat them all the time it might pay to be picky about where they come from or buy organic at least sometimes.

[MamaSnoo]

Mandarin oranges are best between late December and February which is the only time I buy them. I believe they are from California or Florida then, but now I am going to make sure that I double check. I don't care for the oranges the rest of the year as they are just too pithy.

This is the brand that I buy and are available in my area, which are from California:
Cuties (http://www.cutiescitrus.com/about/faqs)

Thanks, I have bought the fresh Cuties as well when they are in season, or other US brands. I was actually talking about the ones in jars:bag. We use them in times of the year when there is not much seasonal fruit around, or when I have not been to the store for a week and we are running low on fruit.

[AnnieW625]

FWIW, imported grapes (Chile) are one of the highest in pesticide fruits out there - so if you eat them all the time it might pay to be picky about where they come from or buy organic at least sometimes.

Thanks!