The Discontinued Trader Joe's Burger Reddit Wishes They Had Back

Among the general "know before you go" advice when it comes to shopping at Trader Joe's, you should also be aware that some of your favorite TJ food items of today may be discontinued tomorrow. While certain products that have a cult following may always have a place on store shelves, like the iconic Everything but the Bagel Sesame Seasoning and Cauliflower Gnocchi, social media reveals products are pulled from stores every year with little to no explanation.

There is an entire account on Instagram dedicated to products that have been removed from the curated Trader Joe's shelves known as @traderjoestobediscontinuted and the sad news for regular TJ's goers is the account was just updated in July over the brand's turkey bolognese Just Sauce. Reddit also has posts dedicated to the airing of grievances when it comes to long-since removed favorites. A few months back, one user posed the question, "What discontinued items do you miss most?" and with over 600 comments in reply, the list of retired food items is longer than you'd initially guess.

The kitsch company is clearly in the know about the disappointment they cause since there's a special section on the Trader Joe's website allotted for your feedback over recently discontinued items. There is one product in particular that Redditors wish would make a return to the freezer section.

If you've been wondering why Trader Joe's stopped selling Joe's O's, you may also have some questions about the disappearance of one highly regarded frozen food item. One user in the r/traderjoes subreddit recently posted a picture of the brand's frozen Chile Lime Chicken Burgers with a caption explaining that a crew member had noted the product would no longer be available in stores at the end of this summer. Social media users came together in the comments to express their disappointment, and one user stated, "I had a feeling this would happen after they were recalled."

Truth be told, the long-missed favorite was recalled back in November for "foreign matter contamination" (via USDA). Not only were bone fragments found in the patties but roughly 100,000 pounds of chicken were recalled in the nationwide announcement (per Insider). With earlier recalls this year due to plastic fragments found not only in the brand's crunchy slaw but also in their soft-baked snickerdoodles, Trader Joe's has made it known that the company is dedicated to offering safe food products even though some elements of their "product supply chain are beyond their control" (via Trader Joe's).

Knowing a past recall plays a part, it may be more understandable why the popular brand removed the product from store freezers. Redditors offered a friendly tip to fellow chicken burger lovers to follow one of the many copycat recipes available on the internet.