Vegetarians, beware of chocolate!

[homesick_american 1]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6653175.stm

Some of the UK's best-selling chocolate bars, such as Mars and Twix, will no longer be suitable for vegetarians.

Also affecting brands such as Snickers and Maltesers, owner Masterfoods said it had started to use animal product rennet to make its chocolate products.

Masterfoods said the change was due to it switching the sourcing of its ingredients and the admission was a "principled decision" on its part.

The Vegetarian Society said the company's move was "incomprehensible".

'Extremely disappointed'

Masterfoods said it had started using rennet from 1 May and non-affected products had a "best before date" up to 1 October.

Rennet, a chemical sourced from calves' stomachs, is used in the production of whey.

It will now also be found in Bounty, Minstrels and Milky Way products, and the ice cream versions of all Masterfoods' bars.

"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.

The Vegetarian Society said it was "extremely disappointed".

"At a time when more and more consumers are concerned about the provenance of their food, Masterfoods' decision to use non-vegetarian whey is a backward step," it said in a statement.

"Mars products are very popular with young people and many will be shocked to discover that their manufacture now relies on the extraction of rennet from the stomach lining of young calves," it added.

[cartaverde 12]

Wow.

I think I'll stick to Green & Black's and O'Conaill's chocolate then.

It's amazing how much everything has animal based stuff. Anything that is non-chocolate seems to have (should be the same in UK as everything in Ireland is imported from there) always gelatin in it. Even when I sometimes find halal candy, it is still halal gelatin. I don't really want to have ANY parts deriving from animals in my candy. So a few mints are gelatin free, chocolates ... and Haribo halal/kosher/vegan candy that I can't find no more..

I think I won't buy any Masterfoods candies then either.

[Mags 112]

Well, considering that vegetarian rennet is readily available, I think that Masterfoods is being quite small minded in choosing to take this route.

[Dr_LHA 3]

How bizarre. I don't know what the percentage of vegetarians in the UK is, but I would have assumed it was high enough that you wouldn't want to lose them as customers.

[Oath 0]

Don't really see the problem with it, they warned vegitarians its changing. It's up to the veggies to find an alternative after all they / you chose that path. Lets be honest, big deal you can't eat a certain type of chocolate.

[Mags 112]

Don't really see the problem with it, they warned vegitarians its changing. It's up to the veggies to find an alternative after all they / you chose that path. Lets be honest, big deal you can't eat a certain type of chocolate.

Well actually there is a BIG problem with it. Yes, they are warning them in advance (which they have to do) but what if that was your favourite chocolate bar? The fact is, meat eaters can eat the veggie rennet stuff, vegetarians can't eat the meat stuff. It is all about choice. Most cheese changed over to the veggie stuff years ago, the simple fact is you don't need animal rennet for these items. It is like taking a step back, IMO.

I can't fathom it myself. There are ALOT of vegetarians in the UK and I reckon that Masterfoods have just shot themselves in the foot, their sales figures may drop quite a bit.

Edited May 14, 2007 by mags

[homesick_american 1]

Don't really see the problem with it, they warned vegitarians its changing. It's up to the veggies to find an alternative after all they / you chose that path. Lets be honest, big deal you can't eat a certain type of chocolate.

Well actually there is a BIG problem with it. Yes, they are warning them in advance (which they have to do) but what if that was your favourite chocolate bar? The fact is, meat eaters can eat the veggie rennet stuff, vegetarians can't eat the meat stuff. It is all about choice. Most cheese changed over to the veggie stuff years ago, the simple fact is you don't need animal rennet for these items. It is like taking a step back, IMO.

I can't fathom it myself. There are ALOT of vegetarians in the UK and I reckon that Masterfoods have just shot themselves in the foot, their sales figures may drop quite a bit.

I hope their sales go through the floor; they're probably only doing it to increase their profit margins. B*stards. Animal rennet is disgusting and unnecessary. I like eating meat too, but cow stomach lining is taking it too far.

[Mags 112]

Don't really see the problem with it, they warned vegitarians its changing. It's up to the veggies to find an alternative after all they / you chose that path. Lets be honest, big deal you can't eat a certain type of chocolate.

Well actually there is a BIG problem with it. Yes, they are warning them in advance (which they have to do) but what if that was your favourite chocolate bar? The fact is, meat eaters can eat the veggie rennet stuff, vegetarians can't eat the meat stuff. It is all about choice. Most cheese changed over to the veggie stuff years ago, the simple fact is you don't need animal rennet for these items. It is like taking a step back, IMO.

I can't fathom it myself. There are ALOT of vegetarians in the UK and I reckon that Masterfoods have just shot themselves in the foot, their sales figures may drop quite a bit.

I hope their sales go through the floor; they're probably only doing it to increase their profit margins. B*stards. Animal rennet is disgusting and unnecessary. I like eating meat too, but cow stomach lining is taking it too far.

Exactly! There is, quite simply, no need for animal rennet anymore. There are substitutes that are used throughout the food industry. As I said...it is like a step backwards.

I hope people start to boycott their foods, I really do.

[homesick_american 1]

Exactly! There is, quite simply, no need for animal rennet anymore. There are substitutes that are used throughout the food industry. As I said...it is like a step backwards.

I hope people start to boycott their foods, I really do.

We rarely eat candy nowadays but we definitely won't be buying any products from them again.

[deemabrouk 0]

This is a very sad Day for me :cry:

[Oath 0]

Favorite candy bar? so what..

Prioritize your outrage, honestly how big a deal is a candy bar? When Asda brand soup (my favorite soup for a while) announced that they would now have little to zero salt, I changed brands.. mainly because it was tasteless. There are other options available so stop making a big deal out of it.

Old saying, vote with your feet, or in this case by not buying them.

Edited May 14, 2007 by Oath

[Mags 112]

Favorite candy bar? so what..

Prioritize your outrage, honestly how big a deal is a candy bar? When Asda brand soup (my favorite soup for a while) announced that they would now have little to zero salt, I changed brands.. mainly because it was tasteless. There are other options available so stop making a big deal out of it.

Old saying, vote with your feet, or in this case by not buying them.

I'm actually more outraged by the fact that they are reverting to using animal products again. In a world where vegetarian rennet is available, there is simply no need for the animal based product anymore.

[Oath 0]

Favorite candy bar? so what..

Prioritize your outrage, honestly how big a deal is a candy bar? When Asda brand soup (my favorite soup for a while) announced that they would now have little to zero salt, I changed brands.. mainly because it was tasteless. There are other options available so stop making a big deal out of it.

Old saying, vote with your feet, or in this case by not buying them.

I'm actually more outraged by the fact that they are reverting to using animal products again. In a world where vegetarian rennet is available, there is simply no need for the animal based product anymore.

Fair one, I would like to know why they're changing after this time too even though I am a meat eating mofo

[TheZilla 0]

I might be wrong, but I'm assuming their change probably has something to do with their bottom line, it being cheaper for them in some way. That seems to be the most common reason companies pull that kind of thing. They're always going to cater to the majority though, it's gonna come down to the cost effectiveness of their move.

It's that pesky majority rule. I'm a carnivore but it doesn't make much sense to me either, since EVERYONE can eat the vegetable rennet based things but not everyone can eat the animal rennet. Unless it has some massive effect on taste, I think it is rather stupid. Again though, I'm betting it's because it's cheaper for them to do so somehow.

[Dr_LHA 3]

Fair one, I would like to know why they're changing after this time too even though I am a meat eating mofo

Cost of course! Why else would they risk losing sales? Presumably they think the saving in using Animal rennet is worth the lost business from vegetarians.