ASDA - cochineal products labeled veggie

buses7675

Hi All,

I do believe, IIRC, that the beetles are also used as a colouring to make brown Smaties shells brown! Similarly with Minstrels I believe too!

Cheers

Steve

jjames_3

This has to be a windup, surely?

soolin

jjames wrote:

This has to be a windup, surely?

Which bit is a wind up?

Cochineal is made from ground up beetles, I was taught that at school. Many food colourings are now made from plant dyes, so that would make them veggetarian, but real cochineal can not be veggie.

Soo

buses7675

The piece about Smarties was certainly true at least five or so years back - Remember it being mentioned on Watchdog (when Anne Robinson still presented it!)

Not sure if Nestle have changed the colouring since, they may have done, but I don't think Smaties are a marked as being being suitable for vegetarians.

See this story for further info:

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/29/1098992287581.html?oneclick=true

Cheers

Steve

(btw 100th Post this too! - Happy Birthday too Martin!)

r.mac_2

This is ridiculous - I cannot believe that ASDA are not even responding to your concerns ina sympathetic manner.

I suggest that you put your concerns in writing and letting them know you will be informing the vegetarian society etc etc, then make sure you copy your letter to the vegetarian society and others listed.

I believe that it is up to the individual to chose what they eat, but if something is marked suitable for vegetarians I expect that to be true. In my (non-vegetarian) mind, bettles are an insect equivalent of a steak!

best of luck and keep at them on this issue.

DaisyNelson

I share your digust on this suject, it's hard enough being vegetatian without being miss-informed. My first reaction is to vote with my feet and not shop there anymore.

gibby

To try n finsih the story.

its not a wind up but we have been fibbed to by asda.

On emailing them they sent a standard email back saying their products did not contain beetle juices etc.
A telephone call got a totally different answer saying they did but they class insects as suitable for veggies.

But I replied again and eventaully they said they were changing their policy and beetles would not be used in veggie food in the future.

i then got an email from friend who had been hammering away everyday at them.

firstly they said they would not change their policy and they thought insects were ok for veggies and vegans.
After my friend promised full promotion on TV channels etc they have now changed their attitude and promised to pull the products and publicly anouce so.

Well we havent seen anything happen since and I honestly feel they wont do anything.

If you get the chance email and ring them and complain in store.

Thanks to everyone who has done this so far - if anyone gets a different message from asda please message me as I can have a large group of veggie n vegan ppl onto them asap.

finally - smarties are not veggie as they too have cushed beetles in them.
Also many products made from white sugar are not veggie as the white sugar is processd through filters made from cow bones - Bone Char is the proper term.

Gibby

Outtathaway

gibby wrote:

finally - smarties are not veggie as they too have cushed beetles in them.

There was no need for that, I liked Smarties

soolin

Outtathaway wrote:

There was no need for that, I liked Smarties

When my sister went veggie it was the sweets she missed the most, all those jelly baby type things with gelatine..she said she could live without meat, but not without sweets.

Soo

Debt_Free_Chick

I think part of the problem is that "Vegetarian" means different things to different people. Some just mean "no meat", others mean "no meat, no fish", others mean "no animal products at all". Wine, for example, often includes a fish by-product (issinglass) - yet many who claim to be vegetarian will happily consume wine.

There is no formal or legal definition of "vegetarian" but if you want to avoid all animal products, then I think you can only rely on the Approved by the Vegetarian Society lable.

The cynic in me would suggest that supermarkets are so greedy that they will knowingly use inappropriate descriptions if it means they sell the product :mad: