'may contain...' and 'made in a factory that also handles...'

[smadams11]

How do you deal with food that has vegan-friendly ingredients but packaging that states the food may contain traces of milk and other non-vegan-friendly foods? Same question for food packaging that says 'this food was produced in a factory that also handles: [non-vegan-friendly foodstuff]'? Do you avoid such foods?

 

[Lou]

How do you deal with food that has vegan-friendly ingredients but packaging that states the food may contain traces of milk and other non-vegan-friendly foods? Same question for food packaging that says 'this food was produced in a factory that also handles: [non-vegan-friendly foodstuff]'? Do you avoid such foods?

No, i don't avoid that. The warning that uses the word "may" is just for people who are violently allergic. It is the companies' way to limit their liability. After all, accidents happen. Same deal with with the second warning.

There must be a name for this kind of issue. I see it come up a lot. But I buy my food in a grocery store that also sells meat and milk. I buy Asian takeout at a Chinese restaurant that also cooks meat.

I think its enough to avoid the products that actually include nonvegan things in the ingredients.

 

[Forest Nymph]

They do that for legal protection. Especially mainstream food companies, they don't want to label themselves "vegan" because they want to sell products to a wide market, but they also don't want to get sued by vegetarians or vegans (or by people with nut allergies or milk allergies, that's a thing too). Oreos by Nabisco is a good example of this, they actually state on their website it's for legal reasons, they're totally transparent about it since a lot of vegans call Oreos "accidentally vegan."

There's also the aspect of "99.9% vegan" and that means sometimes it's easier to save money as a vegan if you purchase something on sale that might have refined sugar or unsustainable palm oil. Halloween candy and Top Ramen are examples of this. There's really no way to know if SweeTarts contain bone char, or if Top Ramen sustainably sources its palm oil, but since it's less than 1% of the overall product ingredients, it's not on the same level as purchasing a big vat of unsustainable palm oil, or even a whole bag of refined white sugar. There are vegans who avoid the "99.9%" but most of them are either affluent enough to afford it or have been vegan long enough that it's easier for them. I know as a college student there are times where I buy the plain Rice Ramen and there are definitely other times where the vegetarian Top Ramen soy sauce flavor is more within my budget. 30-40 cents per ramen cake vs. 1 dollar per ramen cake doesn't sound like much but there are weeks where it makes a difference.

PETA actually promotes "99.9%" because it makes veganism more accessible to everyone, whether they're a college student, a working class family, or an individual living in a marginalized community where corporate products are mainly all they have to choose from.

 

[ninjanurse]

I carefully check all labels to make sure there aren't any hidden nasties. The biggest example I can give is I found a dairy-free vegan butter, which I thought was butter but turned out to be Margarine and made with Canola oil which is very unhealthy for you. So I may have to use that for something else and either give it away or give it to my mother.

 

[Lou]

Isn't "dairy-free vegan butter" just what the marketing guys have decided to call margarine?

Canola oil isn't really that bad, either.

 

[ninjanurse]

Isn't "dairy-free vegan butter" just what the marketing guys have decided to call margarine?

Canola oil isn't really that bad, either.

True but when you read facts on several websites that play the "he Say - She Say" Card, its very hard to come across what is approporiate in products, so I tend to stick with what I feel is right.

And Yes The marketters like to call that stuff "Margarine"

I prefer vegan butter tbh

 

[Lou]

True but when you read facts on several websites that play the "he Say - She Say" Card, its very hard to come across what is approporiate in products, so I tend to stick with what I feel is right.

And Yes The marketters like to call that stuff "Margarine"

I prefer vegan butter tbh

I just read about this recently. Margarine sales have been declining for several years.
The trans fat issue was part of it. And then there was all those news articles saying that butter had gotten a bad rap.

A big company (KKK) bought a lot of margarine making facilities (from Unilever) for a song. What they are hoping is to piggyback on the big vegan food industry growth. Since PB meats and PB dairy industries are doing so well. Why not PB butter?

As far as I know, most margarines have reduced the amount of transfat their products contain. Some of that is just deception. the labeling laws don't require really small amounts to be posted so the companies just reduce the serving sizes till the trans fat disappear mathematically. But there has been a real push to eliminate trans fat from products (for real). I am pretty sure that there are government guidelines in some countries but a big part is from WHO.

I have a container of Earth Balance in my frig. just checked and 1 tbsp contains 0 Transfat. It could be that they can just round 0.1 down. its been in the frig a long time - i think the new products are more likely to really be transfat - free.

As far as the "he said, she said" issue goes.
I did some elementary school level research many years ago and determined that canola oil is one of the healthiest ones for cooking. That has all become moot since learning about the WFPB diet which says that no oil is best. If I remember right the extra virgin olive oil is also not good but not at high temps.

Nowadays instead of doing research I just go to the expert I trust the most. Usually, that is Dr. Gregar or Dr. Fuhrman. And see what they say. Unfortunately, they are pretty much dead set against oils no matter what.



FYI

Industrial Margarine Market Expansion Projected to Gain an Uptick During 2018 to 2028 – Online News Guru

The Push to Make Fake Butter Cool (Again)

www.vice.com

 

[KLS52]

I don’t worry about “may contain” or “shared equipment”.

 

[QualityGains]

I don’t worry about “may contain” or “shared equipment”.

+1. I don't worry about it at all. It simply means that they've been produced in the same faculty. Currently there are, as far as I know, not many entirely vegan faculties due to economic reasons.

 

[VeganForHealth]

Since I am "Mostly Vegan For Health" That does not bother me. I overall look for no meat, dairy, processed flowers, calories, fat content, and nutrient I am ok with even egg if it is very low on the ingredient count like Honey Mustard Salad dressing. I typically limit all but will let a minute amount slide sometime. But hey, I will also eat the occasional fish or shrimp (per my doctor's recommendation based on blood tests) so I may not be the best example.