Imagine taking a bite of a juicy steak after a long day, only to find that there are some unwanted inclusions in your Trader Joe’s meal.
A Trader Joe’s customer says she purchased a rib eye steak several days before its printed expiration date. But after she prepared it and sat down to eat, she realized she was not just eating steak.
What’s wrong with Trader Joe’s steak?
In the video posted to TikTok by user Gine (@justgina12) which has drawn over 118,000 views on the platform, she says she cut her steak open to find maggots inside.
“I was just in the middle of cooking dinner—I’m scarred for life—for me and my boyfriend,” she says in the video. “I got a nice steak from Trader Joe’s two days ago. I’m cooking it, not seeing any problems. I put it on the plate, and I go cut into it.”
Gina says she didn’t notice anything off until she cut into it. “Maggots. Maggots start coming out of the steak,” she says. “I’m so ill, I can’t even look at it. I’m going to have to have my boyfriend show it to you.”
The video then cuts to the cooked steak on an orange plate, with small white larvae scattered around it.
“Safe to say, don’t ever eat anything from Trader Joe’s,” she says. “I’m scarred for life, I can never eat meat again. I’m going vegan. You’ll never see me eat meat again.”
The issue came as a particularly nasty shock, she said, because she thought she still had several days to eat her steak before it went bad.
“Oh, and by the way, this steak was not spoiled,” she says. “The ‘freeze by’ date was Feb. 1, 2025.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Gina via TikTok comment and to Trader Joe’s via contact form regarding the video.
Reported issues with Trader Joe’s
Customers of the private-label grocery brand have shared several instances of questionable quality in foods purchased from Trader Joe’s in recent years.
One shopper says she found a worm in a salmon filet, and another has taken to TikTok to share that she purchased a container of soup that eventually had the lid pop off in the fridge, potentially due to spoilage.
How can steak get maggots?
At some point in the supply chain, the steak was exposed to flies. Flies lay their eggs in decaying organic matter, per Pestco, which then hatches to become fly larvae, or maggots.
This could occur in several steps of the meat packing process if the cuts are left exposed to the air at room temperature.
Viewers weigh in
Some viewers shared that they had stopped buying meat and fish from the retailer altogether.
“I learned a long time ago not to buy meat or produce from trader joe’s only frozen meals and snacks lol,” one commenter wrote.
“Their stuff gets recalled too so much I never eat meat from there,” another said.
“I dont shop at TJ and this is one of the many reasons why !!!!!” a third said.
@justgina12 I will never be eating meat again
♬ original sound – Gina![]()
Others cited recent recalls motivating them to stay away from Trader Joe’s.
“They ALWAYS have re calls on their products,” one commenter wrote.
“Trader Joe’s has too many recalls,” another commented. “I stopped eating food from there.”
“Their stuff gets recalled too so much I never eat meat from there,” a further user said.
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