diff --git a/data_juicer/core/ray_data.py b/data_juicer/core/ray_data.py
index d224a9b0a..17235a2b8 100644
--- a/data_juicer/core/ray_data.py
+++ b/data_juicer/core/ray_data.py
@@ -57,8 +57,9 @@ def set_dataset_to_absolute_path(dataset, dataset_path, cfg):
 def preprocess_dataset(dataset: Dataset, dataset_path, cfg) -> Dataset:
     if dataset_path:
         dataset = set_dataset_to_absolute_path(dataset, dataset_path, cfg)
-    if Fields.stats not in dataset.columns(fetch_if_missing=False):
-        logger.info(f'columns {dataset.columns(fetch_if_missing=False)}')
+    columns = dataset.columns()
+    if Fields.stats not in columns:
+        logger.info(f'columns {columns}')
 
         def process_batch_arrow(table: pa.Table) -> pa.Table:
             new_column_data = [{} for _ in range(len(table))]