Alcohol in pudding not clearly displayed

Unlike nuts, I don't expect food to possibly contain alcohol. I don't read the ingredients of everything I buy.

It does. On the ingredients list.

I've shopped to cater for family members with serious allergies, and I understand the reality of that - sadly so many things are cooked with, or in proximity to, eggs and nuts.

I assume everything I buy could could have been made in factory with nuts, and I check to ensure otherwise when I need to.

I don't assume everything I buy was made in a factory where some fella wanders around pouring alcohol into stuff not traditionally made with alcohol.

Well no, but I do check ingredients for the thing I am allergic to in products which are likely to contain it... because ultimately it's my responsibility to keep myself safe.

Puddings do, frequently have alcohol in them so maybe OP needs to be a bit more vigilant in checking in the future. The fact is, the information was there. If someone chooses to ignore it that's on them.

Yeah, our food labelling is pretty great. You just need to look at the actual label. It takes more effort but that's life.

I'll be completely honest here - I've never scrutinised the ingredients list of a fruit shoot or a pack of pom bears specifically looking to ensure sure there's no vodka in there before giving to my kids, and I doubt you have either.

It's very rare for a contract reaction to be that severe, but it is a good illustration of why labelling milk is at least as important as labelling alcohol.

We're very fortunate that we only have to deal with a moderate peanut allergy, they're not in very much and people tend to overestimate the seriousness if anything. Anaphylaxis to egg must be very difficult.

we are not talking about dietary limitations. We are talking about alcohol. Controlled by law. Relevant to almost every household that could be taking this home. Not a minority concern, by a majority one. Not a preference, or a personal allergy , or an intolerance, but a legally controlled drug. Of course it should be labelled

And presumably Sainsburys are following the law in the way they are marketing, labelling and selling this product. It clearly doesn't meet the threshold of alcohol content to be a restricted product. And it is labelled.

I missed it too, OP, could easily have given a spoonful of this to a child
The amount of alcohol in spoonful of this product is negligibly low, and would have caused no problem to a child at all. In fact, it's so low that presumably the child could have gone to Sainsburys and bought and eaten this product themselves.

Theres no requirement to label alcohol/alcohol free on the front of the packaging.
You need to become familiar with which products typically contain alcohol and check the ingredients (the same as anyone else who wanted to avoid certain ingredients).
Your main issue will be deserts, Christmas food and ready meals like lasagne shepherds pie etc.

It's on the front of the packaging and listed in the ingredients and it will be a negligible amount of alcohol.

At some point, consumers need to take some degree of personal responsibility for actually, y'know, checking what it is they are putting into their mouths.

YABU it says “contains alcohol” quite clearly on the front of the packet and has it listed in the ingredients list. What else do you expect them to do??

Which it does on the front of the truck packaging.

We have pretty good food labelling laws in the UK. It's not alcoholic enough to be restricted, and alcohol is clearly listed in the ingredients so I think it's fine.

I agree the wording on the front doesn't add much and isn't prominent, but it's still a hell of a lot more than products with peanuts tend to get and they'd put my DC in an ambulance. Very few products list the top 14 allergens prominently on the front, you need to check the ingredients.

Yes it should say clearly that it contains alcohol

Anybody who knows anything about design will tell you that the placement and colour of "contains alcohol" on that packaging is wholly inadequate and does not draw the attention at all. It's reckless on a dish that doesn't traditionally contain alcohol.

I shop a lot in Sainsburys, but if they're going to hide behind "it's technically there if you look hard enough for it", then I'm going to go shop elsewhere that doesn't require me to scour every single item on my way around the store for vital yet subtle disclosures.

This is not true. Cooking removes some alcohol but not all.

Off topic but that makes me go cold.

My boy has a severe egg allergy and it just takes one person thinking its funny on Halloween and he could die.

Absolutely horrendous for that family and poor boy🩷

And precisely NOTHING would have happened to the child other than them probably saying they didn’t like the taste.

Not to mention the fact that some people can die from ingesting the tiniest bit of dairy. A school boy in the UK died when a piece of cheese was thrown at him.

Side note, but I find it bizarre that I got asked for ID recently buying 0% alcohol beer.

But I’ve never been IDd for a pudding 😂

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

As I said above there's alcohol in loads of innocuous things. If the alcohol goes above a certain (low) level it is restricted and can't be sold to under 18s etc.

If you're not happy with alcohol below that level then you need to read the ingredients just as many of us do for allergies as well as dietary restrictions that are by choice.

Well, seeing how if my son eats / comes into contact with his allergen it could kill him at worst and result in the use of an epi pen/hospital stay at best, they are a bit different. OP has been mildly inconvenienced and has written a couple of emails. Its not really the same is it?

Yet I look at the back of every single product i buy to make sure it wont kill him. OP needs to do the same.

@ImVanillaBaby yes?

Oh no! How are you feeling? I'm sorry this happened, you're doing really well staying sober, don't let it knock you!

You should definitely pursue this so that they understand it is very serious for people in your situation. But not if it's going to make you think about alcohol too much x