Bringing home the bacon -- from Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's hot dogs, jumbo franks and bacon are uncured and preservative-free, but the franks are made from beef raised with harmful antibiotics and growth hormones.

Trader Joe's conventional and organic sweet potatoes and fresh figs.

I dashed out to Trader Joe 's in Paramus for uncured bacon and hot dogs, as well as sweet potatoes, but came home with so much more.

I couldn't resist a 20-inch stalk studded with fresh Brussels Sprouts ($3.49) or a 2-pound package of fresh, sugary black figs from California ($4.99).

I went for more conventional sweet potatoes (85 cents a pound), but also picked up organic sweet potatoes ($1.23 a pound).

Costco Wholesale, where I usually buy a 10-pound box of sweet potatoes, has them only at the holidays, and doesn't sell the organic ones.

I also purchased Trader Joe's non-fat Greek Yogurt with honey, mango and pomegranate in 5.3-ounce cups (99 cents each).

A stalk of Brussels Sprouts.

The Brussels Sprout took a hot bath before I drained the pot and seasoned them with extra-virgin olive, a little salt and a lot of organic non-salt seasoning from Costco.

I boiled and mashed organic sweet potatoes with garlic cloves and added olive oil.

I bought the antibiotic-free Trader Joe's Uncured Bacon ($3.99) and Trader Joe's Uncured All Beef Hot Dogs ($4.49) for my teen-age son, but he also wanted the Jumbo Uncured Franks, even though they are made with conventionally raised beef.

These drug-filled jumbo franks ($4.49) and other items are why Consumers Union has launched a campaign to get Trader Joe's to sell only meat free of harmful animal antibiotics.

Here is an e-mail I received on the campaign from the political and action arm of Consumer Reports magazine:

"You’re now one of the half-million Americans demanding that antibiotics get out of our food animals. 

"Yesterday, your name was among those delivered to Trader Joe’s New York City flagship store asking the grocery chain to sell only meat raised without antibiotics!

"And ‘you’ arrived in style, accompanied by signs, speakers and our new mascot, Joe the Pig, who wants Trader Joe’s to get him off drugs!


"The widespread use of antibiotics in food animals contributes to the spread of deadly, antibiotic-resistant ‘superbugs’ in humans. We’ve asked Trader Joe’s – one of the nation’s most progressive grocers – to lead the way and sell only no-antibiotic meat. 

"And hundreds of thousands of you agreed.

"But company executives have refused to meet with us to consider your request. So we bundled all 557,772 of your petition signatures (on a paper-saving flash drive) and delivered it to the NYC store so execs know shoppers are serious.

"Consumers can change the marketplace if we speak out together. If grocery stores stop selling antibiotic-raised meat, factory farms will stop using overusing this drug. If you have friends and family who are concerned about the overuse of antibiotics and superbugs, forward this message so they can get involved."

Trader Joe's, 404 Route 17 north, Paramus; 201-265-9624. Open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.