Nooooooooo!



Oh well, I'll be able to kick my minstrel habit now :rolleyes: However, I just ate a packet yesterday with a best before date of December some time so I guess I must have been merrily crunching away at calves stomach completely oblivious

Feel sick all of a sudden.

Same here. I am SOOOO mad. I do NOT eat body parts, ever! I bought a 2 pack of Galaxy about 10 days ago, ate one, the other is still in the fridge, checked it and yes it IS one of them! I think I am going to write a very strong letter of complaint!

Feel free to send it my way, I'm in no way vegetarian :D

Having said that, this is a bit of a daft thing for them to have done - not least because of the volume of complaints I'm sure they'll get.  Not a good way to keep customers.

What a Buffoon...

>"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," said Paul Goalby, corporate affairs manager for Masterfoods.<

I'd be extremely irked, were I  vegetarian at such a ill thought out remark... 'less strict' indeed!?

I eat rennet in other food stuffs so it doesnt affect me or trouble me personally, but sneaky turnabout and disregard for a large part of the population now who are  ethically motivated then the even larger proportion who  abstain for cultural or religious reasons.

Well, things might have changed quite a bit since I gave up being a vegetarian and I know a lot more vegetable based rennet is used today but back in the day I would have assumed everything with whey in was not vegetarian unless specifically told otherwise. 
Were the chocolate bars previously labelled as suitable for vegetarian then?  If not I can't see that much has changed from the vegetarian point of view beyond having it confirmed? 
I also think the "less strict" vegetarian is very much a reality :) I'm sure we have all met those that eat fish and even chicken :D on the basis that it's not dreadfully red perhaps :)

Psuedo-vegetarians :)

Indeed :) although perhaps those that let a little whey pass through might be allowed the term para-vegetarian ;)

Were the chocolate bars previously labelled as suitable for vegetarian then?

That's not quite the point, because the problem was that it was not announced that they changed. I'm sure many will check the list of ingredients once, and then not again as you don't assume it will have changed unless it says "new and improved" or similar.

But wasn't whey always listed and did it previously state vegetarian?  Like I said, back in the day, I would have always assumed the worst about that but I do appreciate it is mostly vegetarian now so are vegetarians just assuming that it is ok these days?

I don't know!

I'm not sure about the individual packets per say (don't have one to hand now, only a calves stomach one), but in vegetarian books and websites (with lists of suitable foods) etc they were listed as such.

Well that is a shame.  People ought to know and understand what they are eating but they have released the information now so the lists can be updated.  They probably did not put themselves forward for the lists so not sure that they are responsible for that.

Hrmm, I did mean more "official" lists such as those collated by the vegetarian society rather than some list any old oddbod has cobbled together. Mars products WERE suitable for vegetarians and they should have released a statement months ago stating the change over way before there was the risk that anyone was going to eat a non-vegetarian product.

I'm sure the list are official, and I have no doubt people appreciate them and rely on them, but it does not follow that Mars requested to be put on them. They don't seem to have ever really marketed themselves as a vegetarian product.  They have chosen to do so but I can't see why they are under any great obligation to inform anyone of their change in status. 

I don't know that they didn't market themselves as vegetarian.

Does anyone have a packet with a best before date prior to October?

>Does anyone have a packet with a best before date prior to October?

Stored chocolate! Oh come on this is Champdogs :D

Well I thought there might be someone out there on a diet, harbouring some in the nawtee cupboard :P

:D :D :D *nods vigourously in agreement with Isabel*

>Does anyone have a packet with a best before date prior to October?

Yes, I have a bar of Galaxy with a Best Before date of 2nd September. And there's absolutely no mention of it being suitable for vegetarians.

Odd, I wonder why not. Maybe they have been pulling a swift one for some time

I would have thought that if foods aren't specifically labelled as being suitable for vegetarians, it's safest to assume they aren't. So because chocolate wasn't previously labelled as such then this change makes no difference.

>Maybe they have been pulling a swift one for some time

Not if they never marketed themselves as a specifically vegetarian product. 

I always thought whey was some form of milk???  Curds and whey are the two things in cheese making process aren't they???

Yes, it is but you need some form of rennet to make them seperate.

>"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," said Paul Goalby, corporate affairs manager for Masterfoods

Yes, bit of a silly comment wasn't it! Surely a vegetarian wouldn't want to eat a calves stomach fullstop, nothing to do with being an "extremely strict" one, just that you are one. The "less strict" vegetarian who is happy to chow down on it isn't a vegetarian then is he/she :rolleyes: A silly comment, and really rather pointless I thought.

>I must have been merrily crunching away at calves stomach completely oblivious

You don't eat cheese then?

Same story with Cheese JG, these days it is more likely to be vegetarian as not in UK, apparently a lot cheaper :) but I don't think it would ever be enough to assume

I've only seen cheese using vegetable rennet marked as being 'suitable for vegetarians' and more expensive than the equivalent animal product.

It'll be the labelling adding to the price ;)

Yep, Tescos mild cheddar cheese usually :D In fact, the only Tescos cheese I've come across (not that I've examined the entire range) that hasn't said suitable for vegetarians is the value/economy stuff, same goes for pizzas, macaroni cheese etc.

But really rennet is a direct result of the dairy industry.  No calves, no milk.  So when I was a lactovegetarian I must admit if I wanted a bar of something with it in I would have just crossed myself and eaten it.  Only vegans need be so picky I feel.

Makes me feel a bit queasy to be honest. I'm not vegetarian purely for ethical reasons (although I have seen one too many slaughterhouse PETA videos over the last couple of years which has made me more aware of that side of it). I became vegetarian about 12 years ago, mainly because I dislike the taste of meat and the mere thought of where its come from combined with me ingesting it just doesn't do it for me :D

The thought of eating anything to do with a calves stomach is personally pretty disgusting to me, not sure I am just being "picky". I think I'd go as far to say that I'd rather eat a chicken if forced to chose between the two.

Then rest assured it is not a calves stomach you are eating :)  It is a milk product that has reacted to an enzyme removed from a calves stomach.

>The thought of eating anything to do with a calves stomach

It is still something to do with a calves stomach though :P

That's exactly how I feel as well zarah. I never liked the taste of meat, can't bear to look at it, don't like the thought of what it is, have not eaten meat for almost 30 years now, and I can't even watch people eat chicken if it looks like chicken -hubby had to bribe his son the other day when we all went out for a birthday meal, to NOT order the roast chicken he wanted. I DID offer to just place a tall menu in front of my plate so I couldn't see anyone eat, but they didn't like that suggestion for some reason. :D

Now I know most people would think this terribly silly (and please don't get me wrong, I have NO problem with people eating meat, as long as I don't have to), my husband just laughs at me, but I am totally serious. When we go shopping, now after our move we also shop for my MIL. (She is disabled so can't do it herself.) Hubby and I always go together as I don't drive. Now MIL always want meat from the meat counter, and every time I see the meat counter in Morrison's I wish they'd cover it up with a black blanket or similar. I equal it to those boxes that some shops use for porno magazines -they cover all of the magazine but the title, as to not offend customers that don't wish to see the covers. Those that don't at least put them on the top shelves so they are not eye level. To me, they should do the same with meat in shops, it makes me feel sick to see it. They should do SOMETHING to ensure only people that WANT to buy it have to see it. In our local Morrison's it is right next to the salad counter so it's very difficult to avoid. Separate aisles I don't mind, I can avoid them!

Go on, laugh away, but I am serious....... it does make me feel physically ill.

I'm vegetarian and it makes me really cross that masterfoods are now using animal rennet,when they previously managed to produce their chocolate products without it. I have just e-mailed the article to my son in university. He and a great many of his friends are strict vegetarians and they will definitelly circulate the article to other friends and family members, and boycot these products (yes, they are strict vegetarians)
While we are on the subject of vegetarians, how many times do I hear the question 'but surely you eat fish don't you ?' it drives me bananas!!!!!

Are we not confusing vegetarians with vegans?  Vegetarians won't eat meat/fish in any shape or form but will drink milk, eat cheese, wear leather shoes etc.   Vegans won't eat food that has had anything to do with animals in it's making or where it came from, nor wear clothing that was animal sourced too.

Definitions :D

If you drink milk not sure that it makes sense to object to rennet, this is a by product of the milk industry, the calf is not killed for his rennet and rennet itself is an enzyme not meat or even milk.

It still comes from a dead animal that has been killed for human consumption - it is not comparable to drinking milk. I don't eat gelatine either, nor any other slaughter leftovers.  

I think you are spliting hairs Zarah :)   You must know that in order to have milk for human consumption calves have to be born, far more than would ever be required for any other purpose so there sole function in life is to be born and slaughtered soon after.  Therefore if you are not eating meat for ethical reasons it looks a bit dodgy on the ethical side to say yes to milk but no to rennet :) and if you are not eating meat because of the squeamish idea of actually eating it then you can rest assured,rennet if not meat.

I always found it quite amusing that Golden Wonder Chicken crisps were suitable for vegetarians, when the cheese and onion were not , I know its because of the animal rennet used in the cheese and onion, but I guess the chicken ones never got a sniff at a chicken! Shouldn't that be on the packet - "this product contains nothing that even vaguely resembles chicken" !! :D

> I always found it quite amusing that Golden Wonder Chicken crisps were suitable for vegetarians

I assume that vegetarians don't actually eat these crisps :D :D :D Therefore why should they be suitable for vegetarians :D :D

Daisy

Marianne completely OT,but how do you manage to feed meat to your animals? :)

It's disguised, isn't it! What comes in a bag or can doesn't LOOK like dead animals. :) Likewise I use hot dogs and sausages for training.

:D

I was thinking more along the lines of fresh meat,not the processed kind :) This isnt aimed directly at you,it's for any vego that owns a dog or cat.

I feed my dog raw and don't have a problem with it at all :D I personally don't like the taste/texture of meat, nor particularly the smell of cooking meat, and even the thought of consuming meat makes me feel a bit ill, but I'm fine with any animal part my dog eats and he eats a wide a range as I can get hold of. I do have a slight issue with the way animals are farmed and I buy organic/free range if I can afford it, although unfortunately that isn't often. I'm not squeamish about other people or animals eating meat, and I do believe that dogs are primarily canivores by nature and so he eats what I think he would like to eat if he was running free in the wild :D

The funny thing is that I'm the only vegetarian in my family and, other than my mum, not a single other person can stay in the room if my dog is crunching on a particularly noisy rmb (turkey wings seem to have a fair old crunch and a pig leg nearly sent my brother hurling into the bathroom) - doesn't bother me a bit when it comes to my dog :P

I have always thought that "vegetarian cheese" a bit of a non-sequiter - cheese is traditionally a derivitive of milk ..........Mars bars, Cadburys chocolate, etc (with a glass and a half in every bar) are/were milk-based.

Bit like pseudo-sausages/ soy chicken et al.    

Surely if one is a vegan, then anything that tastes remotely like an animal based product must be totally unacceptable.

Margot (going off, shaking her head)

Why are you shaking your head Margo?  

>Why are you shaking your head Margo?    <

Because I've decided that I must ge getting too old for this getting-softer world!    My vegan friends of years ago would never, ever, eat Mars Bars/Snickers/Cadburys chocolate because they were produced using animal derivitives. - a carob bar was their choccy sweet.

Soy was eaten as soy - not as chicken/ham/roast suckling pig flavoured something or other.....

Margot (going back to whack my whites white on a nearby riverbank :D )