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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
Yalta · 19/04/2024 06:01

Dacadactyl · 17/04/2024 06:53

I don't get the issue. You checked the ingredients list and alcohol was on there.

I don't think it needs to have "booze" written all over it.

If you don't want to eat products with alcohol in them, it's on you to check the ingredients.

Do you check every ingredient before buying something

I would be extremely alarmed by this as I have an abnormally high sensitivity to alcohol to the point that something like this might not put me physically over the limit to drive but make it so that my reaction time and general drunkenness could end up with me killing someone if I were to get behind the wheel of a car.

TheCoffeeNebula · 19/04/2024 03:51

People who want to avoid ingredients need to check ingredients.

There are masses of people who recognise that, once producers/retailers have done their part and complied with the regulations, it's up to them to check ingredients and/or nutritional information on products they buy.

There's people with allergies, people with intolerances, vegans, vegetarians, coeliacs, Mormons, Muslims, Jews, other people with religious restrictions, people with alpha-gal syndrome, people on MAOIs, people on Antabuse, people on metronidazole, people with phenylketonuria, people on a medical ketogenic diet, people with liver disease, people with kidney disease, alcoholics, diabetics, people prone to contact dermatitis, people with high blood pressure or high cholesterol, people who just really really hate the taste of certain foods… who have I missed?

You want to avoid even mildly alcoholic foods because of your history with alcohol. Okay, makes perfect sense, there's lots of people in that situation. You don't mention a potential physical health consequence, so presumably the problem is that you feel it could be psychologically dangerous for you to taste alcohol, or to have the knowledge that you've ingested alcohol. That's completely understandable — and entirely your responsibility. You're no less capable of reading the ingredients than any of those other people. You're no less capable of making your own decision about which kinds of items you'll take the risk of not checking, either.

I'm probably more irked by your post than I would otherwise be, because — as well as routinely checking ingredients lists for gluten and nutrition information for sugar — I've had to spend more time than I'd have liked, over the past few years, searching around for and downloading safety data sheets from the internet, cross-referencing them with bafflingly technical Wikipedia pages about chemistry, and trying to make inferences from incomplete data. I do this because I have a family member who reacts badly to a particular set of chemicals that are a common ingredient in toiletries and cleaning products. Unfortunately, cleaning products — even if they're ones that are very likely to get on your skin, like washing-up liquid or surface wipes — don't have to list their ingredients like toiletries do, so I need to do the legwork. I don't get it all nicely presented to me on the back of the packaging, let alone emphasized on the front.

And you're here complaining about not getting an abject enough apology or a big enough compo voucher when you complained that there was a small amount of alcohol in a luxury pudding of a type which commonly contains alcohol. Alcohol which you have already conceded did not, in fact, have any negative psychological impact on you, and which was not only listed in the ingredients for you, but warned about directly above the info panel on the front of the box.

I'll think of you next time I'm hunting around online trying to find a safety data sheet to investigate whether using a particular cleaning product on the bath will turn my family member's skin into a scabby mess.

Shestolemyboyfriend · 19/04/2024 03:26

There are going to be so many ingredients that people can't have for whatever reason. They can't highlight every ingredient on the off chance that someone can't consume it. The onus is on the consumer to check.

Garlicked · 19/04/2024 01:45

JustGettingStarted · 17/04/2024 07:01

I disagree. I'm sober, and I'm not triggered by things like tiramisu. But I would expect the packaging to say something.

The packaging does say.

I'm allergic to sulphites. This means I have to read the ingredients so as to avoid excruciating cramps and projectile vomiting. Sainsbury's publishes the ingredients list of everything they sell. This is so that customers can check the ingredients if there's something they need to avoid.

If you don't bother, it's on you.

DisabledDemon · 19/04/2024 01:40

It says 'contains alcohol' on the front. What next? 'Contains nuts'? 'Contains dairy products'? 'Might make you fat'? Good God.

BleedingMeDry · 19/04/2024 00:16

“Again, only the top 14 allergens can be bolded. Alcohol isn't one, neither is meat.”

I never knew that. Very interesting! I must be misremembering the gelatine, as it is often specified as to what type it is (I check) so must be misremembering it as bolded.

I do still wish alcohol was a bolded ingredient (there are certainly a lot of Brits who can’t have it for a number of reasons) but needing to easily highlight common allergens is indeed important.

Magnastorm · 18/04/2024 23:52

This reply has been deleted

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BubblegumBlue24 · 18/04/2024 22:28

DoreenonTill8 · 18/04/2024 22:25

@BubblegumBlue24 did you check for alcohol in your pinot?... did the label say TOXIN?!

😂😂

No… I read this thread and thought adults didn’t have to read labels themselves. Perhaps I should check….

To be fair I was most surprised when I selected it from the shop shelf not to have a staff member pounce on me, twat me over the head with it while wailing it’s toxic, just to help me make an informed decision. 😁

DoreenonTill8 · 18/04/2024 22:25

@BubblegumBlue24 did you check for alcohol in your pinot?... did the label say TOXIN?!

BubblegumBlue24 · 18/04/2024 22:20

@DoreenonTill8 @CelesteCunningham
There’s no point, there’s no point!!! I’ve already lost half my hair and half my brain cells….

Or perhaps I lost half my brain cells on the lovely cold glass of Pinot I’ve just devoured.

I’m really not sure after reading this thread but someone MIGHT have mentioned alcohol is a toxin?? But I’m sure it was only mentioned briefly 🤣

ButterCrackers · 18/04/2024 22:01

Cyantist · 18/04/2024 21:57

For the avoidance of doubt, toxic doesn’t mean “is a toxin”
Everything can be toxic at the right dose. Very few things are toxins

Edited

I suggest you take up your opinion that “alcohol is not a toxin” with the WHO. They will no doubt be happy to provide you with the information you need. I doubt that the Quora link is up to much / I never click on stuff like that.

Cyantist · 18/04/2024 21:57

PrincessTeaSet · 18/04/2024 21:53

Here you go. Second paragraph. https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/04-01-2023-no-level-of-alcohol-consumption-is-safe-for-our-health#:~:text=Alcohol%20is%20a%20toxic%2C%20psychoactive,includes%20asbestos%2C%20radiation%20and%20tobacco.

It was the first result on Google so don't think you tried very hard

"Toxic" means the same as "is a toxin" for the avoidance of doubt

For the avoidance of doubt, toxic doesn’t mean “is a toxin”
Everything can be toxic at the right dose. Very few things are toxins

ButterCrackers · 18/04/2024 21:52

Cyantist · 18/04/2024 21:41

I did look. I checked the WHO site and it didn’t say it was a toxin

Here we are -
https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/04-01-2023-no-level-of-alcohol-consumption-is-safe-for-our-health
Quotes from the WHO.
“Alcohol is a toxic, psychoactive, and dependence-producing substance and has been classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer decades ago – this is the highest risk group, which also includes asbestos, radiation and tobacco. “
“To identify a “safe” level of alcohol consumption, valid scientific evidence would need to demonstrate that at and below a certain level, there is no risk of illness or injury associated with alcohol consumption. The new WHO statement clarifies: currently available evidence cannot indicate the existence of a threshold at which the carcinogenic effects of alcohol “switch on” and start to manifest in the human body.”

No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health

The risks and harms associated with drinking alcohol have been systematically evaluated over the years and are well documented.

https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/04-01-2023-no-level-of-alcohol-consumption-is-safe-for-our-health

PrincessTeaSet · 18/04/2024 21:50

OldPerson · 18/04/2024 19:14

Someone with an alcoholism problem should be more careful.

But not expect the entire world to swivel on their needs. You need to take responsibility for both the problem and your solution and continued mental health.

I'm surprised, since children could be involved. A child under the age of 5 years is not legally allowed to drink alcohol at home or anywhere else.

Even if you buy miso soup - you cannot pass supermarket check-out without an age check.

So this seems to be a legal problem.

Because if you weren't carded at check-out with a product containing alcohol - they were breaking the law. But I suspect you were - but just unaware which product you were being stopped for, and now want to make a drama out of it.

Presumably you're very young! You don't get carded for alcohol unless you look like you could be under 25 . Most adults can buy alcohol with no id required!

Also it's legal to sell food containing alcohol to under 18s as long as the percentage is less than 0.5% as presumably this pudding is.

Interestingly the upper limit for alcohol free beer has reduced from 0.5% to 0.05% since we left the EU. Another example of how we are much better off outside the EU, clearly!

CelesteCunningham · 18/04/2024 21:48

ButterCrackers · 18/04/2024 21:44

I suggest you check again.
Do provide a link from a reputable source to back up your statement that ‘alcohol is not a toxin’

In fairness it's much easier to provide a link showing a statement rather than the absence of a statement.

ThistleTits · 18/04/2024 21:46

@NoBinturongsHereMate I didn't know that at the time of commenting.

ButterCrackers · 18/04/2024 21:44

Cyantist · 18/04/2024 21:41

I did look. I checked the WHO site and it didn’t say it was a toxin

I suggest you check again.
Do provide a link from a reputable source to back up your statement that ‘alcohol is not a toxin’

Cyantist · 18/04/2024 21:41

ButterCrackers · 18/04/2024 21:36

Have a look on the internet. You can search for WHO alcohol toxin tobacco asbestos carcinogenic

I did look. I checked the WHO site and it didn’t say it was a toxin

ButterCrackers · 18/04/2024 21:36

Cyantist · 18/04/2024 21:25

Please can you point me to where the WHO classes is at a toxin? As well as where they classify tobacco and asbestos as toxins?
thank you

Have a look on the internet. You can search for WHO alcohol toxin tobacco asbestos carcinogenic

DoreenonTill8 · 18/04/2024 21:35

Just need this on everything!

Alcohol in pudding not clearly displayed
neverendingcold · 18/04/2024 21:33

CelesteCunningham · 18/04/2024 21:31

HOW BIG DO YOU WANT PACKAGES TO BE.

(Getting tired of all this shouting, about to lose my voice.)

THE PACKAGE CAN STAY THE SAME SIZE BUT THE FONT SIZE CAN BE BIGGER (AND ALSO IN BRAILLE PLEASE)

(Yeah me too)

CelesteCunningham · 18/04/2024 21:31

neverendingcold · 18/04/2024 21:29

I'D ARGUE THOSE ARE POORLY LABELLED TOO

HOW BIG DO YOU WANT PACKAGES TO BE.

(Getting tired of all this shouting, about to lose my voice.)

neverendingcold · 18/04/2024 21:29

CelesteCunningham · 18/04/2024 21:29

IT WAS LABELLED JUST AS WELL AS LIFE THREATENING ALLERGENS, SO IT WAS FECKING FINE.

I'D ARGUE THOSE ARE POORLY LABELLED TOO