Traeger court case; pellets

Manannan

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Traeger does make some blends of hardwood pellets. However. their Mesquite and Hickory pellets clearly state that they are "naturally flavored hardwood". However, they also use the language "premium hardwood pellets". They do not do a good job of explaining what "naturally flavored hardwood" means.

Since Traeger'spellet manufacturing plants are in the Northwest and hickory grows in the Southeast and mesquite grows in Texas, rather than transporting hickory and mesquite wood to their plants, they squeeze the flavored juices out of the wood and transport that to their facilities to flavor the hardwood pellets. Alder is used as the primary base of the blends as oak is also grown in the Southeast and Midwest. I figured this out long ago and avoid Traeger pellets. I much prefer Bear Mountain and LumberJack pellets made in Wisconsin where lots of different tree species grow.

Traeger has an annual income of over $600 million dollars, so settling aa lawsuit of $1.5 million is not a huge loss.
 
They do not do a good job of explaining what "naturally flavored hardwood" means.

Perhaps this is more by design than accident and they are not the only pellet manufacturer to do it? ;)

Definitely agree with the Bear Mountain comment and I also like Cookin Pellets, conversely it is easy to get too hung up on pellet choice given many produce little discernible difference in the end product,

Certainly wouldn't be bothered getting involved in a lawsuit, I would just switch to another brand or flavour.
 
So with the obvious customer base that have purchased these misleading pellet “flavours” just who did this pay out go to ??
 
So with the obvious customer base that have purchased these misleading pellet “flavours” just who did this pay out go to ??

Lawyers 50% no surprise there! Rest is in $3 dollar off coupons in the relevant states up to a value of $750000 apparently, as always the lawyers are the main beneficiary.
 
I use Pit Boss pellets, they are usually cheaper and seem to work and flavor well. Any thoughts?

I do use Pit Boss from time to time. As I indicated above, LumberJack and Bear Mountain are the best for me. I do not pay a lot of attention to the price, except that I purchased 10 bags of LumberJack when they were on sale last fall at a Farm and Fleet store about 10 miles away. That should last most of this year.
 
I use furtado farms pellets from Canada. They work very well. I tried pit boss but the consumption rate of the pellets was alot higher them traegers, so the cost savings was nil.
 
I use furtado farms pellets from Canada. They work very well. I tried pit boss but the consumption rate of the pellets was alot higher them traegers, so the cost savings was nil.

I find your comparison between Traeger and Pit Boss to be interesting. I have only used one bag of Traeger. I found the pellets to be less dense and a lot of dust was in the bag.. I never purchase another bag.

Pit Boss are not my favorite, I much prefer Bear Mountain and LumberJack made in Wisconsin. However, those brands might not be available north of the border.
 
I find your comparison between Traeger and Pit Boss to be interesting. I have only used one bag of Traeger. I found the pellets to be less dense and a lot of dust was in the bag.. I never purchase another bag.

Pit Boss are not my favorite, I much prefer Bear Mountain and LumberJack made in Wisconsin. However, those brands might not be available north of the border.
The amount of dust in the traeger pellets varies, buying traeger from a actual grill and BBQ store has the less dust because of less handling.
My neighbor mentioned to me he also noticed the pellet consumption increased when using pit boss.
 
I have tried four pellet manufacturers to date including Cookin Pellets, BBQ Delight, Bear Mountain and Traeger on a range of meats including beef, pork and chicken. If I had to pick one winner overall it would be the Cookin Pellets in terms of end result, cost, wastage (shucked before use), burn speed, ash production and the fact they don't appear to be blended? Cookin pellets claim:

No oak or alder filler, 100% of what we say with NO Filler. * Low moisture * Low Fine, dust. * Mid-High BTU
Our Pellets are 100% of the wood named! We don’t add filler or soft woods like others do. Some companies use 80% Oak or Alder, a cheaper filler wood mixed into the wood you are buying! Ask if it is 100%!


Conversely I wouldn't label any of them as poor and a lot of it is personal preference, however I would certainly rate the first three higher than Traeger which unfortunately for me happen to be the most easily available.
 
I have tried four pellet manufacturers to date including Cookin Pellets, BBQ Delight, Bear Mountain and Traeger on a range of meats including beef, pork and chicken. If I had to pick one winner overall it would be the Cookin Pellets in terms of end result, cost, wastage (shucked before use), burn speed, ash production and the fact they don't appear to be blended? Cookin pellets claim:

No oak or alder filler, 100% of what we say with NO Filler. * Low moisture * Low Fine, dust. * Mid-High BTU
Our Pellets are 100% of the wood named! We don’t add filler or soft woods like others do. Some companies use 80% Oak or Alder, a cheaper filler wood mixed into the wood you are buying! Ask if it is 100%!


Conversely I wouldn't label any of them as poor and a lot of it is personal preference, however I would certainly rate the first three higher than Traeger which unfortunately for me happen to be the most easily available.

LumberJack does not go into the details like Cookin Pellets, but theirs are 100% species named unless you purchase a blend. Since I have never seen Cookin Pellets in the Chicagoland area, I stock up on LumberJack.
 
I use Furtado as well. Really like them, but also have to say I don't notice a big difference in the cook with different brands. I do notice differences in the amount of dust and Furtado is pretty good for that.
 
Maybe a few pellet manufacturers are "guilty" of this? The argument seems to stem round the claim on packaging of the pellets being100% mesquite hardwood as opposed to 100% hardwood / mesquite not highlighting they also contain other hardwoods and the fact that mesquite oil is involved.

https://www.traegerwoodpelletsettlement.com/

https://www.statesmanjournal.com/st...ills-settle-lawsuit-wood-pellets/76952073007/

Looks like it has cost Traeger up to 1.5 million dollars!
The only winner in this is the attorneys whom among other administrative court costs received half of the 1.5 Million dollars, $3 coupons for customers only in California and Utah, what a joke. It is unfortunate this type of thing is even brought forward and the customers of Traeger are the losers who will probably end up paying more all because of some jack*ss.
 
The only winner in this is the attorneys whom among other administrative court costs received half of the 1.5 Million dollars, $3 coupons for customers only in California and Utah, what a joke. It is unfortunate this type of thing is even brought forward and the customers of Traeger are the losers who will probably end up paying more all because of some jack*ss.
That's California for you.
 
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