I flipped over the package to check out the ingredients to see how natural these are and noticed that the bar was made in China. 
These days I know we’re all used to having every toaster and computer made in China, but are we ready to have our food products made there?
I was more concerned about the ingredients being from China, but I found out that Mrs. May sources 60% of the ingredients here in the United States, but
ships it to China for processing and then back to the United States for
sale. The last 40% of the ingredients are sourced from Vietnam. Mrs. May moved production from Orange County, California to China 5 years ago according to this article.
AllBusiness.com: Nuts and Boats: Mrs. May’s Naturals Ships Food Materials to China to Process, then Back to the U.S. for Sale
Abbye Freiman, a food manufacturing consultant based in Torrance, said
that she knows of no other food company that ships raw materials to Asia
for manufacturing and gets finished products sent back to the United
States for sales.
…
“It comes down to basically cost of labor,” said James Kim. “The amount of money that it will cost us to hire 50 people in China for a month is equivalent to one person’s monthly salary here. It is not like we are underpaying them; it is the going rate. It’s like having 200 people at the factory at the cost of four or five here.”
The minimum wage in California is $8/hour. A person’s yearly salary at that rate, working 40 hours a week and 52 weeks a year $16,640 or $1387 per month. If Mrs. May is hiring 50 people for that amount, each employee is making $27.74 a month. If you give weekends off, which is a questionable premise since it is common for factories in China to give employees only a couple of days off month, employees are making making $1.27 a day or $.16/hour assuming 8 hour days. This may be the prevalent wage, but is it a fair one?
Can you blame Mrs. May for moving production to China when labor costs are this low? This is raw capitalism.
When people say that the government should stay out of businesses way, this is what we get. Companies maximizing profit without accepting societal or environmental consequences.
18 Comments
I love Trio bars, but today I broke my tooth while eating one. After reading this post I wonder if sending their product to China has something to do with it. There was definitely something in there that shouldn’t have been there.
No more Trio bars for me either…When I noticed the product being made in China, I refused to buy anymore…
COSTCO discontinued the sale of this product in May 2011…according to Sue at customer services.
Sue at Costco needs to check the store in Kalispell MT. They have them; however, AZ stores do not. I will probably buy them from Amazon unless I find a protein bar that does not contain chocolate(messy) or peanut(allergic).
I am wondering if they switched to China to make the bars more affordable for consumers or to garner more profits for themselves. China cuts corners because they are making so little to begin with. The “going rate” is most definitley not a fair rate. Have you seen how the people working for what they are paying have to live? I say no thank you.
I recently tried these bars and loved them!
However, I won’t be buying them since they are not made in the USA!
What’s the reason for this? People want quality products, not made of the backs of cheap labor and food and drug departments that allow unsafe things to pass to us in the USA.
COSTCO may have discontinued the sale of Trio bars in May of 2011, but have since started selling them again. I just bought a box at the Salem, OR, store on 27 July 2012. Very tastey, until I realized the product was from China. Will I buy Trio bars again? No. Too many reports of less than hygenic production lines, and too many reports of lacking (even absent) quality control. As a CELIAC this is a hard choice because of the limited number of tastey treats available to me.
Sorry Mrs. May – I thought I’d found winner. Looks more like I found another corporation that values profit for a few over quality for the many.
I also stopped buying Mrs. May’s products when I saw they were manufactured in China. I would not even feed my dog any products made in Chine, never mind myself. I want my food made in my own country, USA.
No that is not true, I just bought two boxes from my local Costco two weeks ago (Oct. 2012). Maybe they just had lots of inventory? I don’t think so
I bought a package at Costco in Richmond, CA just before leaving home nine days ago, ate them all, tried to get more at Costco stores in the Memphis, TN area, which had them when I was here two years ago and again in December. However, they no longer carry them.
Now that I know they are produced in China, I will stop looking for them. I feel that is so irresponsible of the Mrs. May Company, even though I love them and thought they were very healthful, as well as delicious.
We must not support neo-slavery abroad and unemployment at home
to line our own pockets! As far as I’m concerned, that goes as well for stores such as Walmart, Gap, Apple, etc., etc.!
I like the bars and don’t care if they are made in China. The reality is you are putting food on somebody else’s table. You think not buying these bars is going to change China, you got to be kidding me.
I agree, although you may think of it as slavery, that is how they make their living.
I just bought these from Costco, and after I got home I noticed they are a product of China. I am returning them tomorrow.
While I was trying to find something wholesome and nutritious and trying to read the labels, I totally missed the “Product of China” on the end of the label until I was snacking on one of these bars at my work break. I nearly choked on my last bite. I also purchased these from Costco. There was such a Variety of bars to choose from. But I was appalled that we would OUTSOURCE our FOOD processing to China! Especially when most all is made and grown HERE??? Needless to say, I will finish my box I just bought, I do like them, but I will NOT be purchasing any more of these. I WILL NOT continue to purchase something that should be made here food wise, and ship all this to China for what reason? A measley few cents to save. That is grossly unfair to them and to us.. I will be reading much more closely to the “Where it’s made” from now on, I guess I never thought I had to worry about that. Food on their table or not, I do NOT purchase my food from China (Knowingly), and Yes, I do mind, thank you. OMG P.S. Costco in Woodinville, Washington still sells these, and they haven’t discontinued them, they were still there today @ the Silver Lake Store, in Washington. (2-10-2014)
I have eaten these bars for several years–purchasing them at Costco. I’m not sure how I missed the “product of China” label all this time; but I discovered it about 2 months ago. I have since written to the Mrs Mays company to let them know I would no longer be purchasing their bars because of it.
I am so very sorry but I cannot buy these bars anymore. They were a staple food for me but for health and safety reasons I will no longer be buying these bars either. It’s such a shame that this situation even has to exist.
I was searching for a place to buy these family favorites that Costco in Denver has not carried for awhile. Sorry to say I will not be buying these from any of the marketers that popped up. China? Really? Oh no.
Hope they will bring production back to the USA. I really like them,and they make a satisfying meal substitute when busy….just don’t trust Chinese food processing.