Food market chain drops Chinese imports

MONROVIA, Calif., Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Trader Joe's, operators of 285 food stores in 23 states, has decided to stop offering single-ingredient foods from China, the company announced Monday.

The reason, said Trader Joe's spokeswoman Alison Mochizuki, is customer complaints.

"Our customers have voiced their concerns about products from this region and we have listened," Mochizuki told USA Today.

China isn't a major exporter of food to the United States. However, China been the source of half the food recalls announced by the Food and Drug Administration since Dec. 1, the report said.

Other stores have said they would continue importing food from China without a blanket ban on their products but they will rely on in-house guidelines and treat recalls on a case-by-case basis.

"There are good suppliers and there are bad suppliers in any country," Jeanne Colleluori, spokeswoman for Wegmans Food Markets, told USA Today.