NO WAY, ‘JOSE’!

Trader Joe’s backs off vow to ditch ‘racist’ labels

Trader Joe’s appears to have scrapped plans to abandon its ethnic-food brands days after pledging to ditch them amid charges of racism.

The discount grocer says it may now keep some of the controversial names it has slapped on foreign foods for decades if they sell well enough and customers continue to appreciate them.

“Recently, we have heard from many customers reaffirming that these name variations are largely viewed in exactly the way they were intended — as an attempt to have fun with our product marketing,” Trader Joe’s said in a July 24 statement posted on its Website last week.

“We continue our ongoing evaluation, and those products that resonate with our customers and sell well will remain on our shelves.”

The statement appears to be a reversal from earlier this month when the grocery chain said it was working to phase out the names after deciding several years ago to use only its eponymous brand.

Trader Joe’s acknowledged that the names may have an effect “contrary to the welcoming, rewarding customer experience we strive to create every day.”

The company first revealed plans to do away with names such as “Trader José’s” for Mexican food and “Trader Ming’s” for Chinese dishes following the launch of a petition deeming them “racist” and calling for them to be scrubbed.

But in its latest statement, Trader Joe’s said it “disagree[d] that any of these labels are racist” and that it retired some of them only because they “just weren’t connecting or selling very well.” It also called reports that the petition prompted the review “inaccurate.”

Among the brands Trader Joe’s has done away with so far include Arabian Joe’s and Armenian Joe’s, spokeswoman Kenya Friend-Daniel told The Post in an email Friday.

The company expects its evaluation of the remaining products to be done “soon,” Friend-Daniel said.

Briones Bedell, the highschool senior behind the petition, is now demanding the company clarify “which ethnically branded products will be modified.”

Her addendum to the petition had garnered more than 5,100 signatures as of early Friday afternoon.