SEATTLE -- When you buy "American" food products at your grocery store, you may expect that the food you're buying comes from American farms.

But as our Consumer Investigator Amy Clancy reveals, that isn't always the case.

Tree Top apple juice is an icon of the Pacific Northwest, but if you thought all the juice in a bottle of Tree Top juice comes from here, you probably haven't looked closely enough at the label.

Some of the apple concentrate in the bottle comes from China. And Tree Top by no means contains the only foreign food out there.

Anthony Johnson is patriotic about his food.

"I would purchase a U.S. brand than to purchase from China," he says.

But that's easier said than done. He bought a bottle of Kroger brand apple juice, thinking the juice came from American orchards. But after drinking some, he noticed faint printing at the top of the bottle.

"Kind of hard to see now: CQQ China."

If you look closely enough, you'll find lots of food products on our grocery shelves that appear as though they're made in America, but part or all of them are imported from foreign countries.

The label on a can of Dole Pineapple says "America's Favorite Pineapple," but below that, in fine print, it says the pineapple actually comes from Thailand.

A label on one apple juice is proudly distributed out of Portland, Ore. But, if you look at the hard-to-read writing right, it says the concentrate is actually from China.

"This one is from USA and Mexico."

"This is kind of confusing because it says the peaches are from Spain, but that it's packed in Thailand."

Products from Vietnam, canned mango from Sri Lanka. Most made to look like they're American products through and through, but the truth is revealed in the small print.

"It's so hard to see, it's, why? That's all I ask, why?" Johnson asked.

"A lot of food manufacturers are hiding their ingredient sources and they're acting very cautiously because many, many consumers are concerned about foods coming from other parts of the world," said Caroline Smith Dewahll of the Center For Science.

It's happening across America. Gilroy, California is famous for its garlic, and yet here it's mixed with garlic from China.

Some stores are responding to consumer complaints, however. Trader Joe's, for instance, no longer imports food from China.

But because food and production costs are much lower in some countries, it's hard to avoid foreign food in America unless you look very carefully at every can, bottle and bag you buy.

"It shouldn't be a game of hide and seek to find the country of origin label on your food product," Smith Dewahll said.

It's not just a question of patriotism, of buying American. We enjoy some of the safest food in the world here in the U.S., coming from our farmers and ranchers. But our federal food inspectors can't catch every bad or contaminated food product coming in from other countries.

Our advice? Look over that food label carefully, and not just for the nutrition content. If you don't trust where the food is coming from, don't buy it.