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Original poster

Alcohol in pudding not clearly displayed

608 replies

Purpledefector · 17/04/2024 06:49

I need a bit of a reality check - prefacing to say I'm 2.5 years sober - and not sure if this is clouding my judgement a bit.

I bought a dine in meal in Sainsbury's and the pudding was ' chocolate hazelnut pots' ' sponge biscuit layered with creamy chocolate hazelnut mascarpone and topped with hazelnuts and chocolate shavings'.

When I started to eat it I immediately noticed the very obvious taste of alcohol. Went and checked the packaging and listed within the ingredients was 'alcohol' but this wasn't mentioned or hinted at anywhere else on the product - in the picture or the describing words.

I was really surprised by this lack of transparency. Sainsbury's responded to my complaint really quickly - offered me a £10 gift card and said it would be fed back to the packaging department. I said that I felt that didn't reflect the seriousness of the issue and asked for it to be raised with a manager. It has been and their response is the same.

It's not sitting right with me, it feels like a huge error - and I want to take it further.

What's the general consensus?

OP posts:
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16
valjane · 17/04/2024 19:04

This thread is absolutely batshit crazy. A pudding that contains alcohol has 'contains alcohol' on the front and has alcohol listed in the ingredients. Yet that's not enough for some people!

Kpo58 · 17/04/2024 18:53

ASighMadeOfStone · 17/04/2024 18:37

Beyond it saying "contains alcohol"
How much clearer does it need to be?

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Having Contains Alcohol in tiny letters away from the description of the pudding doesn't make it clear. It should at the very least have been in the description of it.

Livelovebehappy · 17/04/2024 18:51

Still not sure from your posts what exactly you’re looking for here? They’re going to feed back the information, have apologised and give you a £10 voucher. Presumably the powers that be at Sainsbury’s will look to see if there is a need to make the ingredient more prominently labelled, but other than that I can’t see what else they can do?

amicissimma · 17/04/2024 18:49

It does say 'contains alcohol' quite clearly on the front of the package, in white against a dark background.

Surely it should also say that it contains milk products/lactose (mascarpone) and nuts. It also contains wheat, egg and soya. These are potentially life-threatening allergens, but are not stated nearly as clearly as the alcohol.

I'm not sure that emphasising the alcohol more than the allergens is ideal, but it just shows that we all need to check for ourselves what we are consuming, rather than rely on the supplier to pick out the particular ingredient we have a problem with, which may be different from what someone else does.

tuvamoodyson · 17/04/2024 18:45

My husband doesn’t take alcohol…I always read the ingredients list.

TheSnakeCharmer · 17/04/2024 18:40

I agree with you OP. If it contains alcohol or the flavour of it, it should be written on the front of the packaging.
I would ask them to keep in touch with you regarding the outcome. You could also contact Alcohol Support groups to see if they have more clout. The amount of alcohol may well be negligible, but for someone who is tee total, a recovering alcoholic, a child or is not allowed alcohol for religious reasons, this could be upsetting and triggering.

Mich8 · 17/04/2024 18:40

BruhWhy · 17/04/2024 18:22

M&S used to be bad for this too. DH doesn't drink for general 'I don't like thr taste' as well as moral reasons, and he's been caught out with this a lot. Profiteroles are especially alcoholic for no reason!

I'd take the voucher and leave it though. There's not much you can do.

Yes I can almost taste the cognac-y taste of a profiterole’s cream now you say that. I really don’t think it’s unreasonable to check the ingredients of a dessert though if avoiding alcohol as loads of puds contain it. Does it have the added bonus of helping to preserve?

CelesteCunningham · 17/04/2024 18:39

neverendingcold · 17/04/2024 18:32

It's not clearly written

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It's not particularly clear on the front, but there is more than enough info on the package for someone who needs to avoid trace amounts of alcohol to be able to check the ingredients and realise it's included.

Mich8 · 17/04/2024 18:37

Merrymouse · 17/04/2024 18:24

That’s weird though.

Surely the whole point of alcohol in a pudding is the taste.

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I totally agree with you as someone who loves booze and a boozy pud. But I’ve been so surprised since having a baby at how many twenty and thirty somethings are teetotal as part of embracing healthier, “cleaner” lifestyles.

ASighMadeOfStone · 17/04/2024 18:37

neverendingcold · 17/04/2024 18:32

It's not clearly written

Show quote history

Beyond it saying "contains alcohol"
How much clearer does it need to be?

Original poster
Purpledefector · 17/04/2024 18:34

VJBR · 17/04/2024 10:05

How awkward for you. Making all that fuss and it was actually displayed on the packaging.

Not really. I did miss the small
Print on the front of the package which was a bit daft of me. However I do still think that the description of the food is not reflective of what it actually was.
And I didn't make 'all that fuss'... I sent a message to Sainsbury's via fb messenger, wasn't happy with the reply so asked for it to be escalated. And did a quick post on here. Very unfussy really.

How awkward for you being such a mean spirited person

OP posts:
neverendingcold · 17/04/2024 18:32

ASighMadeOfStone · 17/04/2024 18:27

A poster upthread posted a photo of the packaging and the OP confirmed it was the same product and she had missed the "contains alcohol" clearly written in white lettering.

Show quote history

It's not clearly written

Tallerandtall · 17/04/2024 18:32

@Purpledefector

solution cook your own.
also the rules on what has to be mentioned are governed by law.
so use your vote wisely.

TeabySea · 17/04/2024 18:30

Noyesnoyes · 17/04/2024 14:26

@TeabySea but they've updated it since the first post! Do you not read the updates?

No, my screen was playing up.

ASighMadeOfStone · 17/04/2024 18:27

Kpo58 · 17/04/2024 18:11

I can't see that it says that it contains alcohol on the front of the packaging. I wouldn't expect a hazelnut and chocolate desert to contain alcohol unless it said on the front that it was a hazelnut chocolate and brandy (or whatever alcohol they are using) desert clearly on the front of it.

Show quote history

A poster upthread posted a photo of the packaging and the OP confirmed it was the same product and she had missed the "contains alcohol" clearly written in white lettering.

Merrymouse · 17/04/2024 18:24

Mich8 · 17/04/2024 18:19

They are never going to put a big “CONTAINS ALCOHOL” on the front if they don't when it comes to genuinely life threatening allergens. Also, it’d reduce their sales as the health conscious will be less inclined to buy.

That’s weird though.

Surely the whole point of alcohol in a pudding is the taste.

Merrymouse · 17/04/2024 18:23

Magnastorm · 17/04/2024 13:21

Christmas pudding. Tiramasu. Christmas cake. Fruit cake.

All of these typically contain a small amount of alcohol, in quantities which - like the delicious looking pudding under discussion - are in no way harmful at all.

As do some fruits, like bananas.

Someone who has a severe allergy to nuts can suffer serious harm from consuming a nut-containing product, and so it's right that such ingredients are labelled in bold. Labelling every ingredient people might object to that otherwise are not harmful in the quantities we are talking about would make the exercise completely pointless.

Edited
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And if you were an alcoholic they would all be a risk.

BruhWhy · 17/04/2024 18:22

M&S used to be bad for this too. DH doesn't drink for general 'I don't like thr taste' as well as moral reasons, and he's been caught out with this a lot. Profiteroles are especially alcoholic for no reason!

I'd take the voucher and leave it though. There's not much you can do.

Merrymouse · 17/04/2024 18:22

ASighMadeOfStone · 17/04/2024 18:07

Nothing obvious apart from it having "contains alcohol" on it and that the OP has now acknowledged she missed?

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Oh I missed that.

Merrymouse · 17/04/2024 18:21

I don’t understand why alcohol wouldn’t be clearly labelled.

It’s not just an ingredient, it’s a specific flavouring that changes the nature of what you are buying.

Mich8 · 17/04/2024 18:19

They are never going to put a big “CONTAINS ALCOHOL” on the front if they don't when it comes to genuinely life threatening allergens. Also, it’d reduce their sales as the health conscious will be less inclined to buy.

kkloo · 17/04/2024 18:18

ASighMadeOfStone · 17/04/2024 18:07

Nothing obvious apart from it having "contains alcohol" on it and that the OP has now acknowledged she missed?

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It's not that obvious though because you wouldn't look at unless you were used to looking for allergens, because desserts containing alcohol tend to be clearly marked as such as the alcohol is a selling feature and so that you know the flavour of the product.

I wouldn't go checking for alcohol in every box of chocolates just because there are baileys chocolates or Irish whiskey chocolate.

MrsSunshine2b · 17/04/2024 18:13

Kpo58 · 17/04/2024 18:05

I would complain too. There is nothing obvious on the front of that packaging showing that it contains alcohol and I could easily have thought that it was suitable for children.

The alcohol content of a tiramasu is not going to be enough to cause any harm to a child.

PumpkinsAndCoconuts · 17/04/2024 18:12

6Y5T · 17/04/2024 06:50

Cooking normally removes the alcohol content, leaving just the flavour

alcohol usually isn’t completely removed due to the cooking process.

It takes about 2-3 hours for the alcohol to completely “cook off” for most dishes IIRC.

Kpo58 · 17/04/2024 18:11

ASighMadeOfStone · 17/04/2024 18:07

Nothing obvious apart from it having "contains alcohol" on it and that the OP has now acknowledged she missed?

Show quote history

I can't see that it says that it contains alcohol on the front of the packaging. I wouldn't expect a hazelnut and chocolate desert to contain alcohol unless it said on the front that it was a hazelnut chocolate and brandy (or whatever alcohol they are using) desert clearly on the front of it.