Would you eat something if you weren't sure it was vegetarian?

Irish Guitarist · 18-10-2010 3:19pm #1

Someone recently bought me a coffee cake. I haven't eaten it yet and I'm not sure if I will. I've looked at the ingredients and I can't see anything non-vegetarian. On the other hand it doesn't say 'suitable for vegetarians'. I think that's a bad sign as companies usually want as many people as possible, including vegetarians, to purchase their products.

Would you just go ahead and eat something if you had no evidence it wasn't suitable for vegetarians, but weren't quite sure either?

SomeFool · 18-10-2010 4:03pm

I have a weakness for Guinness and Haribo, don't ever see it changing really

fillefatale · 18-10-2010 5:09pm

I'd skim the ingredients first and 80% of the time I would. There was a time when I wouldn't though, but now I'm a starving student

Now that you say it though I bought some Kidney Beans in Sainsburys because they were only 19p a can BUT they don't say 'suitable for vegetarians' on the can and Sainsburys are really good for labeling their own brand stuff vegetarian/vegan... so I'm not sure if I should tuck in now. The ingredients are only 'kidney beans' and 'water'.

18-10-2010 7:19pm

I would never trust a label.
I would always go by the ingredients.

Absurdum · 18-10-2010 8:51pm

the cream in the coffee cake could contain gelatine, those ready whipped avonmore cream tubs have beef gelatine in them

sweet-rasmus · 18-10-2010 9:14pm

But would a coffee cake contain whipped cream?! If it did have gelatin, it SHOULD be on the ingredients. The icing should just be icing sugar, butter and coffee flavour. The cake should be ok.

Now, if the eggs were free range or not would be the only thing... but that is one heck of a battle.

Irish Guitarist · 18-10-2010 9:53pm

I had a look at the ingredients again and one of them was diglycerides of fatty acids. I had no idea what that was so I Googled it and discovered it can either be derived from a plant or an animal. I gave the cake to someone else in the end.

fillefatale wrote: »

I'd skim the ingredients first and 80% of the time I would. There was a time when I wouldn't though, but now I'm a starving student

Now that you say it though I bought some Kidney Beans in Sainsburys because they were only 19p a can BUT they don't say 'suitable for vegetarians' on the can and Sainsburys are really good for labeling their own brand stuff vegetarian/vegan... so I'm not sure if I should tuck in now. The ingredients are only 'kidney beans' and 'water'.

That sounds like the beans may have been produced in a factory that produces meat. They may have been on a conveyor belt that handles chicken or something.

Absurdum · 18-10-2010 11:16pm

sweet-rasmus wrote: »

But would a coffee cake contain whipped cream?! If it did have gelatin, it SHOULD be on the ingredients.

it depends on the cake I suppose, if it were one of the freshly baked ones it may not have any ingredient list at all

Irish Guitarist wrote: »

That sounds like the beans may have been produced in a factory that produces meat. They may have been on a conveyor belt that handles chicken or something.

kidney beans contain kidneys :pac:

sweet-rasmus · 18-10-2010 11:35pm

Irish Guitarist wrote: »

I had a look at the ingredients again and one of them was diglycerides of fatty acids. I had no idea what that was so I Googled it and discovered it can either be derived from a plant or an animal.

Ugh

This is why we need to keep contacting companies about 'suitable for vegetarians' labelling. It seems they need to be told...

fillefatale · 19-10-2010 10:03am

Irish Guitarist wrote: »

That sounds like the beans may have been produced in a factory that produces meat. They may have been on a conveyor belt that handles chicken or something.

Thats odd because the other beans and stuff were marked accordingly

Tar.Aldarion · 19-10-2010 10:56pm

If something is sitting around ye, i don't care, all that matters to me is the question 'will eating this increase the demand for animal products?' So i would have no problem eating anything animal producty that was going to be thrown out or wasted etc.

Maybe email the company quick, before the cake goes off next time.

Shenshen · 20-10-2010 12:49pm

Tbh, I don't think I would think about it quite that much. If the ingredients don't list any animal products, I would probably not agonize about it any further.

And since I've seen the "Suitable for Vegetarians" label on products that did contain gelatine or animal rennet, I would trust that quite a bit less than I would the list of ingredients.

Ms. Koi · 29-10-2010 2:28pm

I check ingredients and then look for the symbol.
Sometimes stuff is vegetarian but it doesn't have the symbol.

:pac:

--LOS-- · 02-11-2010 11:48pm

I'd just scan the ingredients, if I later discover I've missed something before I eat it I'd pass it on to someone else, if not it would go in the bin.

--LOS-- · 10-11-2010 1:19am

To add to this, this evening for example my housemate cooked dinner for me, veggie curry, she also had spring rolls that she wasn't sure whether were veggie or not, asked me if I wanted to look at them to see but she didn't have the packet :P So I just wouldn't eat those, why pain yourself wondering whether they are veggie or not.

Dublin Vegetarian Reviewer · 15-11-2010 6:33pm

Would you trust the chef in a restaurant if he assured you something was veggie?

This chef?

http://dublinreviewer.wordpress.com/2010/10/31/the-gin-palace-42-middle-abbey-street-dublin-1/

--LOS-- · 15-11-2010 8:39pm

Dublin Vegetarian Reviewer wrote: »

Would you trust the chef in a restaurant if he assured you something was veggie?

This chef?

http://dublinreviewer.wordpress.com/2010/10/31/the-gin-palace-42-middle-abbey-street-dublin-1/

That is a fairly ignorant mistake, on the other hand I wouldn't be going to the gin palace for food.

entropi · 16-11-2010 1:54am

--LOS-- wrote: »

That is a fairly ignorant mistake, on the other hand I wouldn't be going to the gin palace for food.

It sure is! Plus Govindas is only up the street from one entrance to the Gin Palace...I've been there for gin though, it does that well

As for me, well I'm a label reader...if it has something I wouldnt feel comfortable eating or do not know the origins or food/chemical grouping of the ingredient as in E numbers...then I avoid it.

Same goes with food cooked for me, I would politely say I won't be able to eat it for such and such a reason, if I felt/knew it contained anything meat-based.

awesom_o · 22-11-2010 1:20pm

Generally, I will ask 'did you use meat stock?' or check if theres gelatine but to be quite honest sometimes I just not ****ed.

It harder when it comes to eating out, you never know if something is cooked in animal fat. I feel like such an eejit asking the pizza people on the phone 'eh are the chips/wedges ect cooked in animal fat?'

Dublin Vegetarian Reviewer · 22-11-2010 5:47pm

Another strategy is to ask if they used chicken or beef stock. They usually come back then and say it was actually a vegetable stock.

Lia_lia · 24-11-2010 1:00am

Majority of places use chicken/beef stock in all sauces/soups. Including the veggie options. My Mother is a chef (and a vegetarian)...really pisses her off!

entropi · 25-11-2010 11:08pm

So today in college canteen, I decided to get a roll with some veg & cheese on it. Lady does fine as per usual making it up, until she accidentally stuck her hand in the chicken bucket...I told her I can't eat the roll and why, and left it at that.

Gonna stick to centra from now on, they are helpful, have nice food and it's cheaper...and in this one you get a free capri-sun too:D

Would you eat something if you weren't sure it was vegetarian?

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