cross contamination

[xjohnx]

why do you guys worry about cross contamination? if you're at a restraunt and ordering something vegan, it's demanding vegan products and you're not demanding non vegan products so why does it matter if a little bit of a non vegan product gets in? i mean aside from the whole "i can't imagine eating anything from an animal" or taste/health issues, shouldn't it theoretically be ok since you aren't paying for it?

[mophoto]

sometimes pita bread heated on the same thing that meat is cooked on smells and tastes of meat. i have a very strong sense of smell and i just want to vomit if that happens.


it doesn't bother me if a pan that cooked meat was thoroughly washed and then cooked my food but getting a meat chunk in your food is nasty.

[xjohnx]

so it just a taste and smell thing that has nothing to do with ethics?

[Mr Flibble]

Cross contamination is not just an issue of ethics or taste, but of health.

Most vegan products do not require thorough cooking, some not at all. In comparison, most animal products require extensive cooking to render bacteria harmless to humans. If a preparation area is used for steak which is then used for salad, without proper cleaning it is a health hazard, as that bacteria will transfer to the uncooked salad. I know a vegan who got food poisoning eating a fruit salad, at a mainly meat serving restaurant.

There's also the fact that not all vegans are so for ethical reasons, some have allergies. I know vegetarians who are lactose intolerant, and knew a girl who was allergic to eggs. Both claimed to be vegan when eating out so they could be sure to avoid these ingredients. Allergy is no laughing matter, and cross contamination is the reason that a lot of people with allergies (and take it seriously) don't eat out.

In terms of my personal stance, I find the whole concept of enslaving and slaughtering animals for no reason other than complete human selfishness both despicable and highly disturbing. Knowing what I know about the production of such items, the idea of consuming a product that an animal was forced to produce against their will, let alone one which is flesh itself makes me (psychosomatically not physically, although the manifestation of becomes physical) sick. I will reluctantly eat with non vegans, and I will eat food prepared in the same area as animal products provided that cross contamination is thought of properly. Eating is something that everyone does - often communally; I think it's important to be able to share that. However, given the choice of eating out with friends at a restaurant who cannot provide for my strict diet or eating at home (using a kitchen which has never to my knowledge seen a non vegan product) and meeting them in the pub afterwards, I choose the latter.

[harpy]

Interesting one. From an aesthetic point of view the idea of eating animal traces makes me uneasy, but mostly I try not to think about it. Getting (more-or-less) vegan food served at omnivorous establishments seems to be enough of a goal for now, and whether my food is cooked separately doesn't seem to have much effect on the wellbeing of any animals. I do try and support veg*n-only establishments where feasible.

Some people are concerned about ingesting any animal matter e.g. for health or spiritual reasons, but that aspect doesn't bother me personally.

ETA sorry, Mr Flibble, we posted more or less simultaneously I think.

[Maisiepaisie]

I feel sick at the thought of eating food that has been cooked in a meat eating environment. I just can't help it but I don't trust meat eaters to cook my food for fear of contamination. I am happiest eating in my own cruelty free kitchen.

I have a problem at the moment in that my Dad keeps asking me to go and stay with him. As he lives over 200 miles its not practical to make a short visit. As I can't bear to have my food cooked in pans that have cooked meat I am considering taking my own pans but I fear he may be offended if I do this.

[postal46]

MY question is sugar in just about everything.

From cookies to bread to pasta sauce.

Am I to assume that this sugar is refined though bone ash?

It seems it is almost impossible to eat foods without sugar.

Also Im a male with thinning hair and I use minoxidil topical solution.

Was this animal tested?

And am I wrong for using it.

By the way I consider my self to be at least 90% vegan.

[Pob]

Yes it was tested on animals. But then so were all medicines - it's up to you to decide if it is important enough to you for you to support the drug industries by buying it. Very close cropped hair is quite common amongst pattern balding men, and generally looks great.

The best way to avoid possibly non-vegan sugar in food is to buy less processed foods, and only buy sweetened food that is certified vegan.

I try to avoid possibly contaminated foods as much as I can. Miniscule amounts aren't likely to cause me any problems, but it's still nice to avoid them. I had a vegan muffin over Christmas that had been cooked in a muffin case that was baked in a muffin tin that had some dripping still in it. Urrggghhhh - it really tasted of it. Bleuurgghhh.

Do the Vegan Society set any limits on amounts or types of contaminants that are allowed under the logo?

[~Luna~]

Am I to assume that this sugar is refined though bone ash?

I`ve read that all sugar made in Europe is vegan (not refined using bones) but that in USA there are some companies which refine their sugar with bone char and some which don`t. I guess the only way to find out is to ask the company. (Some vegans don`t care about the bone char used to refine sugar, it`s up to everyone whether to care about it or not.)

Edit: There are some herb products including stuff like nettle and rosemary, which should help with thinning hair. Often those products are vegan and not tested on animals.

[gertvegan]

MY question is sugar

Check out the sugar thread postal46.

[Gorilla]

Do the Vegan Society set any limits on amounts or types of contaminants that are allowed under the logo?

i think they must have certain limits on cross-contamination, because they certify some vegan products that are made on the same factory line as products containing dairy. there are some products they approve which state on the label they may contain traces of cows milk for example, so it seems 'traces' are ok with them, but i don't know if they have any specific limits on how big these traces can actually be.

personally i don't like the idea of cross-contamination, but it's bound to happen occasionally if you eat any processed food or food prepared by non-vegans. i think it's up to the individual how much cross-contamination you want to risk coming into contact with. allergies are different though as the smallest trace can cause serious problems.

[bazbegin]

why do you guys worry about cross contamination? if you're at a restraunt and ordering something vegan, it's demanding vegan products and you're not demanding non vegan products so why does it matter if a little bit of a non vegan product gets in? i mean aside from the whole "i can't imagine eating anything from an animal" or taste/health issues, shouldn't it theoretically be ok since you aren't paying for it?

I think either option is okay, you're supporting near-vegan options if you eat it.
What I eat is one part of my life that I can control. By exercising conviction, strong determination, committment, free will, stubbornness, decisiveness or whatever it's called - for what I belive in, I feel much much better.
I really try to stick to trusted places and less likely to be contaminated foods when eating out. I much prefer to sit opposite somebody eating vegan and I seem to be getting better at organising that.
Sitting in a vegan place feels most comfortable.

[veganblue]

On the bone char sugar contamination - it is annoying to find that home water purifiers also often include bone char.