Marks and Spencer soya milk

[pusskins]

Didn't realise this wasn't vegan. I've not used it before, but I had to buy some for somebody at my work today. Had a quick perusal of the ingredients whilst waiting in the queue... Vitamin D. So I checked the Marks and Spencer vegan list and it isn't on there. So they sell soya milk - but it isn't even suitable for vegans. That's made me even more grumpy today

[sandra]

How annoying Pusskins!
I use Marks and Spencers dairy free spread as it is vegan but I've never used their soya milk...............I didn't know it wasn't vegan though.
I use Tesco's soya milk as it states on the container that it is vegan and it's the nicest one I've tried.
I wonder if you emailed Marks and Spencers would they tell you just what is in the milk to make it not vegan? Maybe it has vit d3?

[leedsveg]

So I checked the Marks and Spencer vegan list and it isn't on there. So they sell soya milk - but it isn't even suitable for vegans.(

I think quite rightly, we're all getting a bit suspicious when vitamin D is included as an ingredient. It's a shame when they don't put whether it's D2 or D3 but I suppose the fact that they don't say which it is, perhaps tells us all we need to know. "Flavourings", when listed amongst ingredients gives us no clue at all, to suitability for vegans.

lv

[pusskins]

Well, I've emailed them, so will post the response as soon as I have received one.

[genisis]

i feel your annoyance and frustrations pusskins, I have always assumed all soya milk to be vegan, im in shock that its not!! thankyou for posting this info on here. I will definatly check ingredients from now on.

[pusskins]

I have not heard back from them since I replied to the original email I got which didn't actually answer my question, so I'm going to shoot another email off now.

[Lisey_duck]

Eek that sucks. I've never bought the stuff anyway as it seems to be such crappy value financially compared to the Holland and Barratt opposite, but could have been tempted in an emergency so thanks for the heads up.

[khadagan]

wow, I probably wouldn't even check the ingredients on soya milk, would just assume it would be vegan, reminds me to keep checking anything new I might be buying..

[friend]

M and S soya is very poor value for cash as its ony 0.75 of a litre for well over a quid. milk usually comes in those tiny orange cartons, tastes very odd, used to be full of e numbers and is very dear.
It gave me bad guts in 20005 , my letter of complaint was ignored.M and S.....bad news.
A post by leedsveg recently alerted me that even tesco cheap soya milk, one type may not even be vegan.

[pusskins]

Got a response!

Thank you for your email following your enquiry about our Soya milk.

I am afraid there have been a few problems with our product lists and they are in the process of being updated, this is perhaps why you were not able to find this particular product on the list for products suitable for customers who are vegans. I can confirm that the information provided by my colleague is correct and the product can definitely be enjoyed by vegans.

I can also advise that 25-hydroxy Vitamin D is the vitamin D contained in this product. I hope this information has been helpful.

Thank you again for contacting us.

Kind regards

Confused about the 25-hydroxy Vitamin D. Information I can find (Wikipedia, because I didn't do science at school!) seems to point towards it being D3?

[Firestorm]

25-hydroxyvitamin d I think can be either D2 or D3, http://www.online-medical-dictionary...oxyvitamin+D+2, I have done a bit of googling and it seems that 25-hydroxyvitamin d is the end product of your liver hydroxylating vitamin d (2 or 3) http://www.spectra-labs.com/resource...etin_FINAL.pdf.

I have also emailed M&S to confirm that their soya milk is vegan, it was on the April Vegan list, but is not on June's?
I hope that it is, it tastes similar to so good soya (my fave brand) and it seems to be one of the only soya milks to contain Iodine.

[VeganZee]

I like the fact that it contains iodine too Hope it is still vegan

[Firestorm]

I have also asked them to confirm the levels of the vitamins in it because it doesn't list that on the carton. If the iodine levels are decent, I might be able to cut out my supplement!

[sandra]

I didn't know that about M&S soya milk (that it contains iodine)............I hope they get back to you soon Firestorm and let you know for sure if it's vegan. I, like you, would be glad if the iodine was of a decent level as I don't like taking Kelp tablets!

[Firestorm]

It was their nutritionist that I emailed about this, by the time last night came I was fed up waiting so I emailed customer services as well.
This morning I received replies from both of them, the CS reply listed a few of the vitamins but not all of them (stating that if I want the Iodine levels they would have to contact the supplier for them), the reply from the nutritionist contained the levels for everything.


"Dear Customer,

Thank you for your query.

I can confirm our soya milk is suitable for vegan diets. I have also listed below the vitamin and mineral content for a 250ml portion of soya milk.

Calcium 30 mg
Iodine 23 µg
Niacin 1.3 mg
Vitamin A 136 µg
Vitamin B1 0.2 mg
Vitamin B12 1.0 µg
Vitamin B2 0.65 mg
Vitamin C 10.2 mg
Vitamin D 2.1 mg
Vitamin E 1.7 mg
Zinc 1.0 mg

If you have any further queries, please get in touch."

Both emails confirmed that it is suitable for Vegans.

[sandra]

Thanks Firestorm!
So, is 23ug per 250mls a good amount do you know?
(I don't know how to make the 'u' the way it's supposed to be with the funny wee bit on the end )

[Firestorm]

I think the RDA is 150ug, so to get that from M&S soya milk you would need to drink 1.65 liters a day! I dont think I can manage that but its nice to have some coming from somewhere other than the H&B pills! I currently get 150ug from a H&B supplement but I think the Vegsoc says that you can probably consume up to 500ug per day. I have only just started taking the supplement (even though I've been Vegan 3 years) so I dont think a little extra will do me any harm.

I have emailed So good soya because I think that this is their product rebranded (it lists potassium iodide as an ingredient), and its cheaper so would be my preferred option

[Firestorm]

So good just replied:

Dear Firestorm, "

thank you for your interest in our product.


There is no added Iodine is our product.


Kind Regards


Hayley Butler
Consumer Service Manager"

They did not confirm my suspicions so I will have to try and get M&S soya milk.

[sandra]

I think I'll give the M&S one a go too! I already use their dairy free 'butter' spread.