The Big Problem Trader Joe's Fans Have With Its New Crispy Mushroom Snack

When it comes to dishing out new mushroom products, Trader Joe's rarely disappoints. In 2019, the brand went to new heights by introducing their umami mushroom seasoning blend, perfect for elevating any kind of savory dish and creating your own secret recipes (via Trader Joe's). The store has even found ways to work the fungus into its beloved frozen entrees, like their meatless mushroom pastries and mushroom and truffle ravioli. While the chain has produced a wide variety of items featuring this standout ingredient, you couldn't find mushrooms as a standalone snack at Trader Joe's until now! 

Instagrammer @traderjoeslist uncovered the new Crispy Crunchy Champignon Mushroom Snack on their latest grocery run, and posted a picture of the new product alongside the caption "NEWCRISPY CRUNCHY CHAMPIGNON MUSHROOM SNACK I never met a mushroom I didn't like! Super excited to try these although I just went to my local #traderjoes and didn't see them in stock! I'll keep an eye out this week and report back as soon as I get my hands on this!" While the post has almost attracted 10,000 likes, not everyone feels pumped up to try these new mushroom snacks.

While we might love this new snack for its flavor combination, a crowd of very vocal followers of @traderjoeslist responded to the post, pointing out the poor nutrition content of the snacks. Responses ranged from "These sound delicious but 25 grams of fat per serving?! Are these mushrooms made out of cheese?" to "Sunflower oil and maltodextrin. Come on trader Joe, you are better than this." The original post by @traderjoeslist showed off the nutrition label for the product, indicating that a serving contained 340 calories, 26 grams of fat, and 2.5 grams of saturated fat, making them chock-full of calories and fat, despite their novel flavor. 

While Trader Joe's has raised the bar for mushroom products, not everyone has jumped aboard. Only time can tell how the public reacts to these new Crispy Crunchy Champignon Mushroom snacks, but when you realize a serving of Lay's potato chips only contains 160 calories and 10 grams of fat, this new mushroom stack stands on some shaky nutritional ground (via Lay's). If fat content doesn't scare you, make sure to grab a bag of this new product while you can. You don't want to miss the unique flavors that might not make it through the year.