Trader Joe's New Soda Is Too Sugary

New year, same die-hard Trader Joe's fans keeping a close watch on innovative product releases from the specialty grocer. One of 2023's most hotly anticipated items, however, is suddenly drawing attention for the wrong reason.

According to Instagram account @traderjoeslist, the store just dropped a new version of its Brewed Ginger Beer, priced at $3.99 for a pack of four cans. Although the poster claimed that "this is one of the best tasting ginger beers," commenters noticed a pretty major fault in the drink.

trader joe's brewed ginger beer — Photo Courtesy of Trader Joe's ©2023

The non-alcoholic sparkling beverage contains a whopping 34 grams of added sugar—that's 68% of recommended daily amount. Fans are alleging that this canned ginger beer has replaced Trader Joe's longtime glass-bottle ginger beer, as it seems the ingredients are similar. (On its website, TJ's confirms it's "the same supplier using the same recipe as our bottled version.")

"Almost as much added sugar as a 12 oz. Coke! And by FDA standards, this product is considered 'high' in added sugars as it exceeds 20% of the daily value per serving," one user wrote. Indeed, the FDA does classify any added sugars below 5% daily value per serving as "low" and anything above 20% daily value per serving as "high."

Another follower said, "That's an insane amount of sugar!!!! No one should be drinking this! I wish Trader Joe's would focus on health as much as they did novelty items." The poster did add in the caption that the beverage does "pack some sugar" and recommended diluting the beverage with your favorite sparkling water before taking a sip.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time Trader Joe's has been criticized for its unhealthy levels of ingredients. According to Mashed, the grocery store's Incredisauce contained high amounts of soybean oil and sugar which caused a stir on Instagram.

This is a classic case of reading the label before you throw a newly shelved Trader Joe's product into your cart.