A Trader Joe’s customer expressed alarm after finding something unusual in a frozen rice package purchased at the grocery chain.
The video alerting customers to the issue came from TikToker @healingisajourney45, who attracted more than 166,000 views as of this writing. In it, she complains about what she contends are bugs inside the rice packet.
@healingisajourney45 Found bugs in Trader Joe’s Jasmine Rice #traderjoes #bugsinrice #traderjoesjasminerice #weevils #jasminerice #traderjoeshaul ♬ original sound – HealingJourney💕
“If you’ve been to Trader Joe’s, check your rice because … thank goodness I look before cooking it,” she says, with the camera pointed to the bag of rice. As she speaks, she points to some dark orbs among the rice grains that she alleges are bugs.
“This is so gross,” she remarks. “There’s like a bug. And then there’s another one.”
“Now I’m like afraid to use any of my rice from there,” she notes about all her rice from Trader Joe’s.
Commenters expressed alarm.
“What’s up with TJs lately,” one wondered.
“They been this way since 2016,” another asserted.
Someone else shared, “I legit ate brown rice from TJs today… I didn’t check it tho.”
“Not me just eating this rice from Trader Joe’s within the last hour,” lamented one.
Another commenter noted, “There was [a] worm in my broccolini packaging smh.”
That led the creator to say, “Oh no!! I’m so sorry that’s even worse. I hate worms.”
Someone else shared, “I went to TJ’s today looking for this rice & they weren’t there … wonder if they pulled from shelves…” In response, the creator also contended, “I wanted falafel a few weeks ago and apparently there were rocks in them.”
Trader Joe’s rice seems to be fine but the company did put out a recent recall for unwelcome guests in a food item. According to a July 28, 2023 article in Consumer Reports, “Trader Joe’s is recalling 10,889 cases of its Unexpected Broccoli Cheddar Soup because there may be insects in the frozen broccoli used to make the product, according to the Food and Drug Administration. There have been no health issues reported.”
The article went on to note, “In a statement, the grocery chain said that it was notified of the problem by its supplier, Winter Gardens Quality Foods. The soup was shipped to Trader Joe’s stores in California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to the creator via TikTok comment and to Trader Joe’s via online contact form.