ISO Sourcing of Kosher Meat at Trader Joes

[Marcharlan]

Does any one know the source of the meat sold by Trader Joe's bearing the Triangle-K hasgacha.

With such a small number of kosher meat producers it should not be difficult to determine where this meat is sourced. Although, I asked last night at the Princeton, NJ store but the manager has no idea where it came from.

While I have read that folks think it is hebrew national, is that even possible? I have never seen HN branded fresh meat before, which leads me to question whether they would even have the infrastructure needed to distribute fresh meat that is packed as this line is. I suspect that it is another packer doing a sperate line for TJ's private label, but that TJ does not want to pay for the hasgacha that the rest of the products coming off that line may bear and hence the triangle-k stamp.

PLEASE NOTE: This is NOT intended to spark a discussion of the quality of this rabbinical oversight and that is why I started a new thread aside from the already pending one.

[chicago maven]

There is actually a very easy way to find the source of their meats, and also their poultry for that matter.
All of these types of foods require a USDA seal and number and there is a different number for each manufacturing facility. If you get the number off of the label and do a little research on the internet, you will find the true original source of that meat.

[craigcep]

What does HN do with the rest of the cow? Surely they must provide lots of meat for lots of non-glatt products and it doesn't make much sense to put the higher-priced parts of a cow into a hot dog.

[DeisCane]

HN is owned by ConAgra. I'm sure they use the rest of the cow for their other beef brands.

[ferret]

Most of the meat from Kosher slaughtering goes to non-kosher uses. And don't think that teh most expensive parts of the animal go into the dogs. Parts of the expensive parts go in, but it's not like they take an expensive cut and then grind it up for dogs. They use the trimmings.

[craigcep]

Fair enough. But if you were HB and had expensive cuts of meat, why give them to non-kosher brands? There are obviously uses for non-glatt meat, whether caterers or the few remaining non-glatt meat restaurants, where you can sell for a higher price than you could get in the non-kosher market. Why not advantage yourself of it?

[DeisCane]

Wait, I thought all of their meat was non-glatt. Wasn't your question pertaining to meat from the back half of the cow, that wouldn't be kosher (in the US at least) regardless? I'm confused.

[craigcep]

I was thinking of the kosher parts of the cow that are too valuable to go into hot dogs - like rib meat, for example.

[goodhealthgourmet]

the manager should have offered to find out from the corporate office - that's what they usually do. try sending them an e-mail...

http://www.traderjoes.com/static/cont...