Tesco

[Troutina]

I found out today that Tescos in fact do 'label' their products. Basically, the circle with the V in it, if the background is green it is vegetarian, and if the background is white then its vegan...
WHAT IS THE POINT!?
JUST WRITE VEGAN ON IT!?
Idiots. Though I suppose it is one step closer...

[tabitha]

Troutina - thanks for the info about Tescos. You are right - labelling a bit random, but a step in the right direction should be applauded.

[Troutina]

Oh yeah I am happy that it is a step in the right direction- sorry I think I was ranting a bit!
Thats what I hope it is though- a step.
Its not enough to make me shop there anymore than the few bits I get there at the moment. But it is a nice thing to do. Just not sure whether I... trust it? I don't know, I would be much happier if it said VEGAN on it!

[St George]

I found out today that Tescos in fact do 'label' their products. Basically, the circle with the V in it, if the background is green it is vegetarian, and if the background is white then its vegan.

Troutina, where did you hear this info? It sounds like a pretty stupid way of labelling, but I will settle for it if that is all they are offering. Just need to know that it is true.

[RedWellies]

When I've seen suitable products in Tescos, they have "suitable for vegans" written on them. I didn't think they only had a symbol.

[St George]

As there is no Tesco near me I dont go in there often, but when I have I have never seen the words "suitable for Vegans" on any of their stuff.

Maybe I dont look hard enough

[RedWellies]

I think it's a new thing and only a few things are labelled. I was surprised when I saw the label (in a good way!)

[St George]

Regarding the green/white labelling in Tesco I think I have found the info that Troutina was refering to here: http://www.tesco.com/health/eating/?page=vegetarian

Seems rather unconvincing to me. Dont see why they cant just label things as Vegan/Vegetarian or just Vegetarian.

[Troutina]

Thats the link I have been hunting for!
I've bought a couple things that have said vegan on them- peanuts, and I've seen a couple of Free From things.
I can only think that they're working through old stock which is being replaced with vegan labelling?
Or is this just wishful thinking!

[St George]

Well time will tell, but if everyone lebelled things as clearly as Co-op do then it would all be so straightforward.

No colour-coding, just a straightforward yay or nay!

[Troutina]

Now THAT is an idea- having YAY or NAY written on packaging.
Though would it be YAY for vegan or NAY for no bad stuff in it?
I think YAY for vegan and maybe NAY for no to vegans.

I don't have a co op near me, the nearest is about an hour and a halfs drive.

[Pob]

That's good to know - I hadn't realised that Tesco was labelling Vegan stuff

I had a wander through their site. Has anyone tried the personalised vegan eDiet? (eeek - just noticed it's £2.99 per week - minimum 10 weeks).

[St George]

Has anyone tried the personalised vegan eDiet? (eeek - just noticed it's £2.99 per week - minimum 10 weeks).

Lol. That's a new one on me!

[St George]

Now THAT is an idea- having YAY or NAY written on packaging.
Though would it be YAY for vegan or NAY for no bad stuff in it?
I think YAY for vegan and maybe NAY for no to vegans.

I don't have a co op near me, the nearest is about an hour and a halfs drive.

Anyway, thanks Troutina. I will have a look around Tesco now. Whilst I think they could do better than colour coding, it is more than I thought they were doing prior to reading your post.

Will have another look around there

[Troutina]

I would NOT trust them to come up with a vegan diet- the same people who think MILK should be in CRISPS.
Pah.

[Gorilla]

why on earth would anyone pay Tesco to tell them what vegans should eat?!!! maybe someone who's not a vegan, but has no clue what to feed a vegan family member or something... sounds like a rip-off though!

i don't shop there myself but sometimes my parents get me food from there, and their Free From cherry bakewells were labelled 'suitable for vegans' the last time i had them, and i think their nut cutlets are as well.

[RedWellies]

their Free From cherry bakewells were labelled 'suitable for vegans'

I like those

[feral]

Re: Tesco's labeling

I was in Tesco's this morning and was checking out some bread products that had the V with the white background but when I read the ingredients it said it contained eggs! So what's that all about?!

[Troutina]

See- this is exactly why I wont be trusting this ridicolous labelling system!!
There are other flaws- pasta has a big green background on the front and a white background on the back!
I never used to like cherry bakewells but since they're vegan I might try them again!

[Cumin]

I suspect the problem here is that there are several generations of labelling on the shelves. The 'new' white and green V's shown on that website are subtly different from their old ones, and I bet they sometimes put the old ones on white background even when they just mean Veggie. I think the trick is to look for the specific shaped V in a box.
Feral - was it that sort of V on the product?

[feral]

Well it was just a black V < like that but come to think about it some more I think it was in a circle.. the new labeling seems to be an ovalish shape, so maybe it is old labeling cumin.

[St George]

I emailed Tesco regarding the green/white lebelling and had this reply:

I can advise that if it is suitable for vegans it
will state this on the packaging also some vegetarian goods with the green 'v'
will also be suitable for vegans but is will state this on the product.

I can advise that there are more products for vegetarian than vegan at the
moment this is due to demand.

You can if you wish visit the food standard agency website and you will be given
more information on labelling of vegetarian and vegan foods.

If you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact us.

According to that you have to look for the words "suitable for Vegans" and forget the colour coding lark.

I ahve had a look at the food standards agency and it looks like there might be interesting info on there.

[feral]

*sigh* their site states

We have also labelled some of our Tesco foods as suitable for vegans, look out for the white logo on packs.

and the product that I spotted with the eggs in it was marked with the white logo, it may have been an old logo but it's still misleading in the context of their advice on the link.

Btw St George that sigh was aimed at Tesco not at you

[Pilaf]

Ha...most people still have no idea what vegans eat. It's ridiculous.. the other day my grandma asked. "Now.. can you have this kind of apple?" I just stared at her and shook my head.

[RedWellies]

Ah, I think that's sweet, Pilaf. Better to be cautious, at least she's trying.

[Jane M]

I guess just from reading this thread that vegans in the UK are never color blind? Wow, and I thought that emergency code here was bad.

[Marrers]

I emailed Tesco regarding the green/white lebelling and had this reply:
"I can advise that there are more products for vegetarian than vegan at the moment this is due to demand."

Yeah, I'm sure all those vegetarians are DEMANDING only to have food that is not suitable for vegans . . . don't these idiots understand that if food is vegan is suitable for veggies as well??!!

[Pob]

Yeah, but, if there isn't eggs, cheese or milk in it, then how are the vegetarians going to get their protein? How many vegetarians actually eat vegetables?

[RedWellies]

Hey, I was a veggie for a long time and I ate veg!

[Pob]

It was meant sarcastically, Red.
Though I do know plenty of veggies that exist pretty much exclusively on Quorn, cheese, eggs, white pasta, white bread, crisps and chips.
Doh - you got me going off topic, now.

[RedWellies]

It was meant sarcastically, Red.

Sorry, I thought you were veggie-bashing!

[lozza]

even if things are labelled veggie/vegan, i always check and check again. cos sometimes the supermarkets get it wrong. they dont always what is exactly suitable/unsuitable for vegans.

always check.
i'm irritated that a lot of the cauldron foods arent vegan, cos they look damn tasty, like some of their pates..oh well

[Risker]

I just called up tesco to get a copy of their vegan food list since I've lost mine and I do my shopping online so I can't read the packets.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, they're going to stop making the lists.

[Emam]

I didn't even know there was a list and now it is gone before I can even get one, it would have been extremely handy. Boo to Tesco yet again.

[Risker]

You can still get one for now, they're sending me one.

[RedWellies]

Did they say they would label their products instead?

[Risker]

Did they say they would label their products instead?

Yup, a good thing if you can go there I suppose

[aubergine]

Did they say they would label their products instead?

They announced they were going to months ago, but as of last sunday there's still almost nothing labelled, even stuff that's practically impossible to not be vegan.

They do stock some good branded Vegan stuff in their free-from section though.

[lavender]

I have a copy of their list - pages and pages of fruit and vegetables actually thats not entirely fair, the bakery section is quite good. I have found differences to the lists in the Animal Free Shopper and their own product list though, which has been a pain after groceries have been delivered only to discover that they arent actually Vegan afterall Like the value apple pies and the jam tarts, listed as vegan, but contain milk - helpful NON?

I spoke to them about a month ago about labelling and the information on the home shopping website, they told me that each time a product is changed/newly listed , full details will be added to the website, at the moment, most of the full information isnt there. They are supposed to be getting around to updating the whole caboodle at some point, but couldnt tell me when.

[Troutina]

Could anyone possibly tell me if all supermarkets french sticks are ok?
I realise a lot of places must differ (i.e. M&S who seem to add milk to everything ) but are Tescos and Sainsburys cheap french sticks ok??
Thanks

[lavender]

Tesco's arent on the lists, which means they are not vegan.

[lavender]

if you search 'is it vegan' for Baguette then a range of different stores own baguettes comes up. http://www.isitvegan.info/

[Mr Flibble]

My problem with that (and most similar) is that it doesn't state the dates when products were confirmed vegan. You've got no idea how old the data is and as we all know recipes constantly change

[RedWellies]

Yes. If anyone finds out the info on Isitvegan is out of date, please tell them. They want to know. It's a good site but needs all of us to add/delete products to help out.

[Mr Flibble]

I think what would be more useful (rather than just waiting for people to update it which to me defeats the point of having it in the first place) is to record the date, then automatically grey out items which have gone more than a year without being checked. That would both show visitors what data may be out of date and encourage people to contact the companies and update the info.

[nervine]

Even if I had a list I still wouldn't trust tesco to know what they're doing. Labelreading it is.

[Demon]

Tesco's arent on the lists, which means they are not vegan.

Not necessarily. I have often enquired to customer services about specific products which are not on the list. They go off for a few days and ask the supplier. Most of the breads I've asked about have been OK. I think it's best to keep doing this for anything not on the list as it reminds them there is a demand for this information.

[twinkle]

Actually, I have seen one Tesco's own product labelled vegan - their own brand soya milk. So there's a precedent.

[puffin]

There nut cuttlets have vegan on. Seems like they are making a real effort with 2 items

[sandra]

Yes, and their bourbon cream biscuits state they are suitable for vegans