Animal-Derived

Published on Friday, May 18, 2007, by MiriamWolf / Edit Post

A vegetarian friend of mine once finished a jar of roasted peanuts, then idly glanced at the label, only to find that the ingredients included gelatin. He became incensed and immediately dashed off a letter to the company, the highlights of which included the rhetorical question, “If you’re going to put DEAD COWS in your peanuts, please place a picture of a DEAD COW on the label so that people are alerted to the presence of DEAD COWS in your peanuts.”

Needless to say, the company did not write him back.

For vegetarians, vegans, allergy-sufferers, and the like, the packaged food world is a minefield. In Great Britain, Masterfoods, the company that makes Mars candy bars (Milky Ways to you, pal), recently rejiggered the formula of several types of chocolate to include animal rennet, an ingredient used in cheesemaking that consists of enzymes extracted from a calf’s stomach.

Vegetarians have been protesting the news, but Masterfoods is standing firm.

Paul Goalby, corporate affairs manager for Masterfoods, said the company at least deserved credit for being honest.

No comment. He went on to metaphorically tell his critics to bugger off, but in the nicest possible way.

‘If the customer is an extremely strict vegetarian, then we are sorry the products are no longer suitable but a less strict vegetarian should enjoy our chocolate.’

In a follow-up, the Guardian lists nine products that are surprisingly unvegetarian, from “beefy” breakfast cereal (Kellogg’s Frosted Wheats contain gelatin) to—sniff—Guinness, which is clarified with isinglass (not the lair of Saruman, it turns out, but a form of collagen that “hails from the swimbladders of fish”).

Caveat: The products discussed in these articles are the British versions; in the United States, formulas and ingredients may be different. Read those labels, folks.

ALLFood Media
POST A COMMENT |7 Comments

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  • This reminds me of my middle school days, when my friends and I started reading a Twinkies wrapper only to discover that one of the ingredients is beef lard. Beef lard! My friend who was eating the Twinky at the time was grossed out for days. Not that beef lard is a gross thing in and of itself, but it is a little unexpected in a spongecake.

  • "A vegetarian friend of mine once finished a jar of roasted peanuts, then idly glanced at the label, only to find that the ingredients included gelatin. He became incensed and immediately dashed off a letter to the company, the highlights of which included the rhetorical question, 'If you’re going to put DEAD COWS in your peanuts, please place a picture of a DEAD COW on the label so that people...+READ

    "A vegetarian friend of mine once finished a jar of roasted peanuts, then idly glanced at the label, only to find that the ingredients included gelatin. He became incensed and immediately dashed off a letter to the company, the highlights of which included the rhetorical question, 'If you’re going to put DEAD COWS in your peanuts, please place a picture of a DEAD COW on the label so that people are alerted to the presence of DEAD COWS in your peanuts.'”-COLLAPSE

  • One way to avoid DEAD COW might be to check prepackaged foods for the OU (kosher) symbol. OU-P means there's no DEAD COW or DAIRY matter in there, while OU-D means there's dairy but no DEAD COW. A K symbol works the same way.

  • Well, the "uproar" wasn't simply because McDonald's was using beef tallow in their fries. In 1990, they made a big deal out of ceasing to do so, claiming that they were responding to vegetarians and other non-beef-eaters (including those with religious reasons) to make their products more accessible. But despite the fanfare, many McDs continued to use it in their fries - and did so for years, all...+READ

    Well, the "uproar" wasn't simply because McDonald's was using beef tallow in their fries. In 1990, they made a big deal out of ceasing to do so, claiming that they were responding to vegetarians and other non-beef-eaters (including those with religious reasons) to make their products more accessible. But despite the fanfare, many McDs continued to use it in their fries - and did so for years, all the while claiming they were not using it. They were eventually discovered in their lie, hence the "uproar". I always read labels, but I can imagine not thinking of it when eating something like peanuts!-COLLAPSE

  • While I am supportive of vegetarians, I find this as funny as the resulting uproar when the news broke that McD's used beef extract to flavor their french fries. Vegetarians who had allegience to McD's felt violated, but did they ever ask what was in them? I can't help thinking that it was the full flavor that made McD's have the most popular fry. I grew up without artificial colors or sodium...+READ

    While I am supportive of vegetarians, I find this as funny as the resulting uproar when the news broke that McD's used beef extract to flavor their french fries. Vegetarians who had allegience to McD's felt violated, but did they ever ask what was in them? I can't help thinking that it was the full flavor that made McD's have the most popular fry. I grew up without artificial colors or sodium nitrate. For a while my aunt had to ship Cheerios from California to us in New York because the ones in New York had Yellow #5. Yep, Cheerios. We noticed this without a news release because my mom read the ingredients list of everything, not just cheese doodles.-COLLAPSE

  • Beware the dreaded red food coloring, too: http://www.chow.com/stories/10214

  • Although... for vegetarians flying off the handle when they see "gelatin" on a label it is good to note not all gelatin is animal derived anymore.

    Best to find out from the company first what exactly is being used.