Warning - May Contain Meat!

Mark Hamill

I propose we start a thread warning people of foods that contain meat. Not food that obviously contains meat, (eg hamburgers etc), but food that you wouldn't expect to contain meat (eg cakes, drinks etc).
I think that the particular ingredient should be pointed out, and any links would also be appreciated.


This thread has come from a history of being severly disappointed by foods containing meat or meat by-products that really shouldn't, things like cakes, preserves and drinks.

Tar.Aldarion

Ok yeah. I'd watch out for marshmellows, jelly, and many sweets. Ones like haribo, tic tacs etc. Anything with gelatin, cochineal, shellac etc. For example ggormet jelly beans say they have no gelatin on the front but contain shellac. There is also a list of E numbers which are not suitable for vegetarians.

Mr Magnolia

I was told years ago that Twix bars contain some form of animal fat?

I can see this being an interesting thread, even for an omnivore (me).

Tar.Aldarion

Mars changed all their products to non vegetarian but quickly changed their minds.
However some of them are still not vegetarian, twix is one all right.
Here are the one's you can eat: http://www.marsconsumercare.co.uk/veg_prodlst.asp

Inglorious

Parmesan cheese, most pesto, most toothpaste, Fanta Orange, Guinness. Might think of more later...

Thanks for the headsup about shellac, Tara. Wasn't aware of that.

sweet-rasmus

Shellac also known as E904. It is in nail polish, some hair sprays, and used as a binder in indian ink, among other things.

I have come across a breakfast cereal which contained beef gelatin. I can't remember the brand (it was at a friend's house and I spotted it on being offered cereal) but it was something with colouring or a topping, so not like your plain rice crispies or cornflakes.

Hundreds and thousands are worth reading the ingredient list. I know that supercook made one of their products veggie only last year.

Be wary of anything (like lidl/aldi jams that I've seen) that are red - that would be carmine aka carminic acid aka E120

Chocolate mousse also has gelatine, of course.

sweet-rasmus

Inglorious wrote: »

Parmesan cheese, most pesto, most toothpaste, Fanta Orange, Guinness. Might think of more later...

I wouldn't be 100% about the toothpaste. Glycerine (which I presume you are concerned about) is also known as glycerol (glycerine is usually the diluted form). It may be derived from either animal fats or vegetable fats, so usless you check with the company, you cannot be sure. I'm just starting a PhD based on conversion of glycerol, so I'm gonna damn well try to find out the sources for any stock I buy!

Mark Hamill

Tara Le d'Arion wrote: »

Ok yeah. I'd watch out for marshmellows, jelly, and many sweets. Ones like haribo, tic tacs etc. Anything with gelatin, cochineal, shellac etc. For example ggormet jelly beans say they have no gelatin on the front but contain shellac.

sweet-rasmus wrote:

Shellac also known as E904. It is in nail polish, some hair sprays, and used as a binder in indian ink, among other things.

Is shellac not suitable for veggies? I thought it was ok, along the lines of honey: from Wikipedia:

Wikipedia wrote:

Once it was commonly believed that shellac was a resin obtained from the wings of an insect (order Hemiptera) found in India. In actuality, shellac is obtained from the secretion of the female insect, harvested from the bark of the trees where she deposits it to provide a sticky hold on the trunk. There is a risk that the harvesting process can scoop the insect up along with the secretion, leading to its death.

Is the risk of death a lot higher than in honey collecting (harvesting?)?

EDIT: just read the rest of the article (This coating may not be considered as vegetarian as it may, and probably does, contain crushed insects. In the tablet manufacture trade, it is sometimes referred to as "beetlejuice" for this reason.:mad:)

Tara Le d'Arion wrote: »

There is also a list of E numbers which are not suitable for vegetarians.

Here's one. (While looking for that, I also found this , a free application for your phone which details on all e-numbers, including if they could be sourced from animals)

I used to love Mr Kipling French Fancies until I found they contained cochineal :mad:. I went to their website, it seems that everything red contains it too.

Tar.Aldarion

shellac is like honey if they had crushed bees in honey, as you later saw.
cochineal is a tricky one, it goes by several names. Caminic acid, it's E number.

kraggy

Avonmore tomato pasta thingy on the shelves says that it is suitable for vegetarians but that it may contain traces of shellfish.

I'm actually ringing about it in next couple of days.

Obviously (but just in case)

Guinness
Murphys
Wkd
Fanta Orange, Lilt
Practically all cheescake
Most if not all chewy sweets e.g. Wine gums, Cola bottles,
Some yoghurts including Diet Yoplait

And regarding e numbers, I find this very useful:

http://www.food-info.net/uk/qa/qa-fi45.htm

Edit: Just rang Glanbia there and they said that they have to put "may contain traces of shellfish" on the packaging for allergy aufferers. The "vegetarian" pasta is made in the same factory as shellfish products and they have to cover themselves in case there was any remnants of fish on the vegetarian one and somebody had a reaction.

flikflak

M+S Percy Pigs

I miss those

Mark Hamill

According to this vegetarian society article, it seems like a lot of wines, brandies and ciders are fined with gelatine, and beers cleaned with isinglass (from fish).
I'm glad I don't drink:)

Peanut

kraggy wrote: »

...
Practically all cheescake

Hmmm because of Gelatine?

It's true that a lot of desserts, especially mousses, will use gelatine to set the ehhh gooey bit, however I think the likelihood of it in cheesecake is not a certainty, I'm pretty sure some recipes either use egg or the soft cheese itself to provide the necessary consistency.

kraggy wrote: »

...
Some yoghurts including Diet Yoplait

Oh yeah these new fish oils in dairy products... minging!

Another one, E120 being added to some brands of honey-roast peanuts, no need for it and it makes them look a silly artifical colour.

Slaphead07

If we're trying to compile a definitive list of foods to avoid then we really need to take this a bit more seriously. There's plenty of cheesecake and mousse out there which don't use gelatin so lets reflect that (people should always check ingredients anyway) and according to the Kiplings box of French Fancies they are veggie.

Mark Hamill

Slaphead07 wrote: »

If we're trying to compile a definitive list of foods to avoid then we really need to take this a bit more seriously. There's plenty of cheesecake and mousse out there which don't use gelatin so lets reflect that (people should always check ingredients anyway) and according to the Kiplings box of French Fancies they are veggie.

Its true that not all cheesecake and moose use gelatine, but you still have to be careful if they use cheese, as the cheese may have rennet in it. As for french fancies (From Mr Kiplings own website):

As you can see, cochineal is used as the colouring, therefore they are not vegetarian (although maybe they have changed the ingredients without updating the website).

Another thing to avoid is Adez Blackcurrant and Rasberry as it contains carmine (another name for cochineal). They gloss over it here in their faqs section (question 4), where they point out its not veggie, but its still "natural". Their other flavours are suitable for veggies though.

EDIT: whats really irritating about Adez, is that on the cartons you buy, it says "colour (carmine)", but on the website, in the ingredients section, it says "colours (natural anthocyanins)". It seems like they have come up with another name under which to hide "cochineal" under :mad:

sweet-rasmus

But sure, we aren't missing much with adez. I tried a free sample before and it's just fruit and alot of sugar. I hope their package states clearly - not suitable for vegetarians.

For the Mr. Kipling lover out there, jsut write to them and let them know your concerns. It is a step in the right direction.

kraggy

Slaphead07 wrote: »

If we're trying to compile a definitive list of foods to avoid then we really need to take this a bit more seriously. There's plenty of cheesecake and mousse out there which don't use gelatin so lets reflect that (people should always check ingredients anyway) and according to the Kiplings box of French Fancies they are veggie.

I'm sure there are some alright that have no gelatin but every cheesecake I've looked at in the past had gelatin in it and that's why I said "practically" all cheesecake.

Another one for ye is Dawn Omega 3 Milk. The O3 in it is from fish.

Fish in milk. What next...

Tabitharose

kraggy wrote: »

Wkd

I queried this with them a few years ago & was told it was suitable for vegetarians, I might of just asked about the blue one though....

On the cheesecake issue - M&S do a baked one that's suitable for veggies & is lovely

Cochineal seems to creep into the most unexpected things in my experience

sweet-rasmus

Tabitharose wrote: »

On the cheesecake issue - M&S do a baked one that's suitable for veggies & is lovely

well spotted!

rubadub

Spiceburgers, I had a thread going in recipes and many thought they were veggie, says meat right on the front and back of the pack! no sneakiness.

Also a lot of cheap cakes have lard in them, Avoca's cookbook has lard in their apple tarts, so many pastries probably do, yet have no ingredients list.

I would imagine a lot of spirits, though containing no animal products, could have used them for fining/clearing the initial brew.

Tar.Aldarion

Yeah, generally the lists for alcohol/isinglass etc are good but those sneaky pastries. If Avoca ruin my tomato and basil soup I'll get them.

A lot of biscuits are not veggie. I miss cafe noir ones for a start.

taram

Pills are an obvious one, I think of the 4 I'm currently on, only one is vegetarian. 2 have gelatine caps, one is a bright pink from carmine. Went looking for omega 3 oils for my sister and found a couple that said 'vegetarian caps!' proudly on the label but still were fish oils inside don't get the point of that!

Whey/rennet turns up in a lot of crisps/snacks even my beloved Salt and Vinegar Snack a Jacks. Ate about 5 packs before I checked Random vegetable soups having chicken stock or 1% dehydrated ham or something is a pain. Ironically my sister brought two of the same brand of soup home last night, chicken had vegetable stock, vegetable had chicken stock. Can't win

sweet-rasmus

After reading your concern about toothpaste Ingorious, I decided to email Colgate straight away. They have taken a while to reply, as I got an email about it being forwarded to another department etc. So, I go my reply on Friday (yesterday):

From: Colgate-Palmolive Consumer Affairs 00 800 321 321 32

Subject: Your recent e-mail to Colgate

Dear <snip>,

Thank you for contacting us with your question. Your interest in our Company and our products is greatly appreciated. We are happy to have the opportunity to assist you.

All Colgate toothpaste manufactured for the European market is free from animal derived ingredients. In addition, Ultrabrite, Tonigencyl and Dentagard do not contain any animal derived ingredients. The glycerin is plant derived or synthetic.

Thank you for taking the time to contact us and for your interest in our Company and its products.

Yours sincerely


Jérôme Roux
Consumer Services Representative

I'm pretty happy about that

Nature Boy

Do Colgate test on animals?

I'm currently working on a sort of 'community' Web site for vegetarians where this kind of info can be shared. If I didn't have a dissertation to do it would probably be done by now. Maybe early next year...

sweet-rasmus

i'd imagine they probably do. any company making personal care products/make up tend to. unless they specifically say they didn't. but that is just a guess... feel like writing another email...?!

Inglorious

Thanks for that sweet-rasmus, another load off my mind. I wonder if that means that some of their American products are animal derived?

sweet-rasmus

precisely what i though about the american products! it's the same with some food producing companies where european versions are vegetarian and usa ones aren't and vice-versa. strange world...

MJOR

Muller Vitality, Yoplait everybody they both have fish in them. I'm not veggie but hate fish and could taste it. Low and behold when i read it there it was... FISH

Emerald Lass

Hi Guys, thanks to those of you who have told us what to avoid. But just a suggestion, when mentioning what to avoid, can you also say why? i.e what ingredient it has which makes it non-veggie? that way not only to we know what particular product to avoid, but also what specific ingredient to avoid?

One from me - Knorr pastaria ready meals. Initially they seems innocious (well except for the cheese element, but some people don't mind that). My sis made some and offered it to me a few weeks ago - I read the packet, and there is chicken fat in it (it was the one with courgettes in).

Another one is trifle - both ready made and packet make yourself varieties. Check the labelling - some contain cocheneal, others geletine. I did find one a while back in a health food shop which was veggie, but can't rememer the name right now - if I remember I will let you know (just in time for Christmas, so you can all make a trifle for dessert! lol)

ztoical

kraggy wrote: »

Obviously (but just in case)

Fanta Orange, Lilt
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Does that go for Club Orange as well?

sweet-rasmus

MJOR wrote: »

Muller Vitality, Yoplait everybody they both have fish in them. I'm not veggie but hate fish and could taste it. Low and behold when i read it there it was... FISH

Which yoplait products? I am familiar with any choc mousse containing gelatine, but haven't heard of other products.

Edit: ewww - just saw that Yoplait Nouriche Raspberry Breakfast Smoothie is "Colored With, Beet Juice Concentrate".
I've been trying to find an ingredient listing for their other products... I don't eat dairy myself, but it would be good to let those who eat dairy know.

Few people know that the food coloring listed as cochineal extract comes from female beetles. Food activists want to spread the word.

When you dig into a strawberry Yoplait yogurt, take a moment to contemplate where the beautiful pink color comes from. Strawberries? Think again. It comes from crushed bugs. Specifically, from the female cochineal beetles and their eggs. And it's not just yogurt. The bugs are also used to give red coloring to Hershey Good & Plenty candies, Tropicana grapefruit juice, and other common foods.

What Companies Do to Improve the Look & Taste of Your Food


You won't find "crushed bugs" on the list of ingredients for any of these foods, however. Companies have a bit of latitude in describing exactly what they put in our food. Many larger companies, such as General Mills, the manufacturer of Yoplait and Pepsi, the maker of Tropicana, identify the dye in their products as either carmine, or cochineal extract. Still, many companies simply list "artificial color" on their ingredients list without giving any details.

from http://money.aol.com/bw/general/canvas3/_a/whats-in-my-food/20060808141909990001

i don't like to think they can get away with 'artificial colours' as a label. argh!