To Be Really Angry at the Butterkist Company & Want to Complain & by E-mail

[RockinHippy]

Not some poxy PO.Box address as written on the packet

I have very ill DD, who has spent the last 3 hours either doubled up with stomach pain or pebble dashing the toilet :(

Worse still its as the result of a cheer up treat I bought as she has a fractured elbow, cast shoulder to fingers & is fed up :(
Very bad as she's at an age where she is easily embarrassed & is now trying to sort herself out in the toilet with raging diarrhoea & her main arm in plaster :(

I bought her the Cinema Sweet Microwave popcorn, because the shop didn't have her favourited salted version & I know she likes this too. I know that the non microwave bags are fine as they don't contain any artificial sweeteners, I also know that the toffee popcorn version is fine too. I'm pretty sure the sweet microwave version USED to be fine. Its not anymore, but contains an artificial sweetener that lists abdominal problems as a side effect, one that DD is very sensitive to, one that along with other sweeteners, diabetic products carry a warning not to eat too much of fir precisely this reason, yet none diabetic, non sugar free stuff sneaks these sweetener in without any warning or clear labelling that they are there at all

I feel like crap excuse the pun because I trusted a brand we knew & didn't read the small print on a day I was suffering with migraine eyes & probably couldn't have read the tiny print if I had tried.

AIBU to be upset & fuming & ask if anyone has a direct email address for this company :)

Yes feeling very peeved & feeling guilty as hell TBH & having re read ciders comment I was OTT with my reply, though it did upset me as I'm dealing with a very ill DD & she has had a hell of a few months already, this week is just the icing on the cake, so of course I'm sensitive over it and bloody wiped out myself from the ongoing stress if it

I also realise AIBU wasn't the best choice & my AIBU should have been AIBU that these companies don't all advertise a change of ingredients clearly as if they had, I wouldn't have been caught out so badly.

To clarify - wearing specs would not make a jot of difference to occular migraine eyes - if it did I would see well anyway as I wear specs always.

Sucralose is the artificial sweetener now added to this popcorn, which is way to close to sucrose for my liking, which is of course just sugar. So even if I could have read the label, with tiny writing & not expecting it to be there at all in a product we know to be okay, it could easily have been missed anyway.

My DD has never had sucralose before, so I had no idea how badly it would affect her, she reacts to Aspatame & Sacharin & few other colours & a preservative & it usually kicks in within 20 minutes of eating it, she will have a bad stomach & the runs for an hour or so - she's actually been growing out of the worst of it as she's getting older, but this stuff has really knocked her for 6 she's still sat doubled up hugging a heat pad & in pain & has spent most if the night on the toilet - she says the pain is far worse than she has had before too, but it did kick in within 20 minutes of eating the popcorn - hoping the worst of it is over with :(

What do I want to achieve by complaining - that nobody else gets caught out like this & they rethink their bloody labelling!

If Ive missed anything, apologies, its been a hell of a night

I can understand why you are upset.

Perhaps it's less a complain you want to make,more constructive criticism.

But as your daughter had never had this ingredient before, even if you had checked the label and noted the change you may well have bought the popcorn anyway.

I hope your daughter is better soon, poor thing

Thank you Alis I hope so too

I doubt I would have bought it, as I don't trust artificial sweeteners at all & know they all do make her ill, so wouldn't have risked one I didn't know, I do think the name is misleading though, I know some people who might have misunderstood & thought it was sugar, which again I think is wrong :(

I get it OP a mix of guilt & anger.

Agree you could still write to them, I don't think you have grounds for a complaint but making the labelling clearer sounds like a good idea if they have switched recipes.

Poor Dd, I hope she doesn't have too rough a night.

As an aside; you can get popcorn kernels in most supermarkets....
It's usually by the nuts or seeds or grains not the ready made stuff.

We always get them in the shopping.

Ah I see. It is difficult dealing with an allergy, but this really isn't your fault. It's natural to feel guilty but try not to.

Sorry your daughter is il, however how can you be sure it's sacralise, if she's never had it.
There is a diarrhoea bug going round.

Yes I do read labels every time.

As I said before, it's a mistake you'll only make once.

Lola thanks :)

I normally keep a kilner Jar full of that stuff, but sadly around here they don't sell it in the supermarket & its only in health food shops that are not close by & just not been able to get far this last few months for various reasons -

DD likes the shop bought stuff as a treat anyway, she thinks of my homemade stuff as not special enough -as preteens do

We are sure Twighlight we've had both of the diarrhoea bugs & the sickness bugs doing the rounds here recently & the symptoms of the sweetener reaction is different anyway, hard to explain, but you know it when it hits

Allergies and intolerances are only a 'first world problem' because the non-existent public health care in third world countries mean that most children with allergies and intolerances DIE before their third birthday.

And thank you, OP, for the warning - I often use this exact popcorn, for me & DS3, and we are both VERY sensitive to artificial sweeteners.

Pain in the arse as it's the only commercial popcorn he WAS able to eat as the others all have soy lecithin in.

I can empathise as my DC have allergies and the guilt when you give them something that will make them sick is awful.

I have very nearly done the same with egg free mayo. I only spotted at the last minute that it now contained soya rather than just being made with pea protein.

The lesson I learned was to always always read the ingredients even if it's a product you've had many times as it is very rare that the packaging will tell you that the recipe has changed even on products aimed specifically at people with dietary requirements.

That works the other way too though as there are a couple of products that DS didn't used to be able to eat that are now suitable (e.g. Pom bears and jammy dodgers neither of which showed a recipe change on their packaging )

Sorry your DD is poorly. Are you sure it's not a bug OP. There's a nasty one going around and when DCs caught it it literally came out of nowhere. However if it is a reaction I do see where you're coming from but at the same time companies label their products as best they can. So I don't think you will get anywhere by complaining. Like a PP said maybe a letter of constructive criticism. There's two reactors in the Pixie Household. Me who suffers from debililitating migraines if I have anything with sweeteners in. Weirdl. Its not the Aspartame that sets me off it's the Phenalynyne (sp?) one that I react to. Also Ds is Lacto Intolerant. We check everything as I'm sure you normally do but you've had a Crap week right? Lactose is even in crisps! . Then again I had two DCs with acid reflux so label forensics just became par for the course when shopping. Draw a line under tonight OP. Hope you and DD get some sleep tonight.

Thing is, I probably wouldn't have noticed sucralose if I wasn't used to spending 4 hrs on every bastarding weekly shop in order to read every bastardise ingredient on every bastarding label because companies can't just put a 'New Recipe' flashing on the FRONT of their packaging when they change ingredients.

I'm intolerant to many ODD ingredients, all artificial sweeteners, and my current worst is tapioca starch. I get symptoms the same as the OP's DD. For some reason, they are adding it to lots of things, especially over the last year, that never had it in before.

I assume it's cheaper than whatever was used before - but I can no longer eat a takeaway pizza from ANYWHERE, and most shop bought fresh AND frozen pizzas are out too. Now it's being added to many brands of chips, even shops own brands - and one week they might not have tapioca starch in, the next they do, with NO packaging changes except the added ingredient that it didn't need anyway! in millimetre high writing...

And as for 'glasses' to read ingredients...I have to take a MAGNIFYING GLASS to the shops with me - have you SEEN how small the ingredients writing is on many packages?! (Probably not, if you don't HAVE to...)

I have a life threatening allergy and yes I read labels EVERY time. yabu get a grip its not their fault you did read it!

Allergies and intolerances are only a 'first world problem' because the non-existent public health care in third world countries mean that most children with allergies and intolerances DIE before their third birthday.

Not to derail the thread, but there is some evidence to suggest that allergies are a first world problem because the inappropriate release of histamine doesn't seem to happen in people who have certain parasites in their systems, such as hookworms which are common in countries with poor water sanitation. Not that it really helps, as there aren't many ways to legitimately get your hands on hookworm eggs, but it certainly makes for interesting reading.

DoJo- that is indeed interesting. As my name suggests, I suffer from Crohn's disease and there is some evidence that intestinal parasites can help there too.

"So Joy do you read EVERY label, EVERY time you go shopping ??"

If you have particular dietary requirements, then you have to, because food manufactures continually change the recipes, usually for cheapness.

I am Vegan, a lot of the Butterkist flavoured popcorn was a easy available snack food to buy, but they seem to change their ingredients frequently.

I think that it's always worth emailing a company, it reminds them that there is still a market for some versions of their products, so that they are inclined to still produce them, or re-think messing about with them.

Yy DoJo. Sympathies OP, but YABU. It is your fault for not reading the label.

My DD has never had sucralose before, so I had no idea how badly it would affect her how can you be 100% sure that this is the problem?
So, reading the label wouldn't have helped because she has not had a reaction before.
Your migraine, your DD's cast, your stress because of what has happened over the last few months, this unpredictable reaction to one of the ingredients in the popcorn. None of these things are the fault of the company.
Not your fault either. Just one of those situations that tip us over the edge. :(

moondog - "Truly what is known as a 1st world problem"

Some allergies are life threatening, so hardy a first world problem. Saying, a child with violent diarrhoea is pretty bad as things go!

I can understand why you are upset. I think some people are being a bit harsh, yes you should have read the label but everybody makes mistakes. Don't complain to the company too strongly but do contact them to make them aware that some people suffer a reaction to this ingredient so it would be helpful if the packaging had a warning or stated clearly that it was a new recipe to remind people to check the ingredients. I hope your DD feels better soon.

actually, I don't think op is bu.
I hate it when companies change the recipe.
I have eczema and I get itchy just reading 'new improved formula' on my usual toiletries.
and I don't get the 'sweeteners in regular sugary things' as well. if I want sweeteners I buy the 'light' stuff.
ffs it's even inregular yoghurts now, it's getting ridiculous.

Would be even better if they would just stop putting shite in their products...especially ones that contribute to people falsely thinking they are buying a healthier product.

Home-made for me.

To be fair I had the same after eating tesco sweetened popcorn. Not pleasant but not really their fault I reacted like that.