Tesco's and fake labels - totally legit

[Moonshine5]

Genuinely shocked.
What is the point of a fake label? AIBU

I doubt most people actually look at the labels op since the UK is one of the biggest consumers of ultra processed foods and our supermarkets are stacked high with them.

Seed oils are not good for you (seeds are fine), they are processed at high heats which changes the chemical constituents and the effect on the body. Cold pressed oils are preferable.

^^ Not only a matter of avoiding ditching the packaging but also getting new labelling printed up in some cases would not be possible in a reasonable time frame (or swapping back and forward would be too costly), meaning that all the other food that goes into creating the product could be wasted because they can't use the type of oil listed on the packaging.

Given that Russia's blockade of Ukraine's ports is affecting a lot more than sunflower oil and there are big concerns about food shortages, this sort of waste, for the want of the correct wording printed on the packet, would be appaling.

The notices and communication about this should be prominent and in particular there should be targeting towards people most at risk of negative consequences (e.g. those with allergies). But that doesn't mean it isn't a sensible, short term approach to a difficult situation.

The article is legitimate.
Your interpretation of it is not.
As others have pointed out. Nobody is filling up bottles of olive oil with rapeseed and telling you it's olive oil. Your oven chips may have been coated with rapeseed instead of sunflower.
Nothing to see here, move on.

They'll have thousands of products whose labels needs updating, and they'll need to print tens of thousands of said labels. It takes time. Considering the oil is an ingredient in these items, the change shouldn't be enough to harm almost anyone. They're also clearly making consumers aware.

A few months ago there was a similar thing with them having to cage free range chickens for a while.

It's similar to the eggs, YABU

Been on the pop tonight?

Sorry OP but YABU. Considering the alternatives and the circumstances, and the fact that the supplier has alerted you to the substitution this really is not the issue you are trying to present it as.

Completely acceptable - Tesco are attempting to inform us consumers in the best way they can. They need to keep food coming to us, and haven’t time to sort out new packaging. The products might have the correct ingredients but then again they might not.
This mass shortage of oil has been caused by the horrific war in Ukraine. I for one don’t care if they’ve not got packaging correct, when there are people the other side of Europe who have lost their livelihoods, homes and family members.

How do some people have enough time in the day to feign outrage at something so small and inconsequential to their everyday life.

No, they aren't.

They are saying that SOME PRODUCTS which will contain sunflower oil may now contain rapeseed oil.

They are not selling bottles of sunflower oil as olive or rapeseed oil.

That's what your post implies.

What is happening is that products like cakes and biscuits may contain rapeseed now, not sunflower.

Labels are in the process of being changed.

what people don't realise is that when there are product shortages it often impacts on the whole supply chain including packaging...another company will make the labels.

unless for some reason you really HAVE to have sunflower oil in your product, it's not worth getting over-excited.

You can always read the label if you want to choose only sunflower.

And anyway rapeseed if far healtheir!

@Soontobe60 Yes, sunflower oil is not good for us. It's high in Omega 6 and the western diet has an imbalance of Omega 6 to Omega 3. We are too high in Omega 6 which can lead to health issues.

That's why no one should eat sunflower oil margarines made from sunflower.

Rapeseed is in fact healthier.

Why are you awake at 3am OP? How odd to post this at that time of the night.

FLOF.

They're not fake labels you Wally.

would you rather have a lack of food on the shelves while they get new labels printed?

Surely the point is that you can't check the label??

Anyway agree that rapeseed is healthier and it's a non issue

YABU

This has been widely advertised since the start of the war in Ukraine. You really can’t care that much if you’ve ignored signs in shops and online for that long. The wastage if all “mislabeled” food had to be binned would be ridiculous and would drive up costs even more. So they advertise the change instead.

get a grip. There are a million bigger problems than rapeseed oil being used instead of sunflower oil in food.

If you’re “Genuinely shocked” over something like this then that’s quite sad.

@WiddlinDiddlin where did you get the information re soybean oil. I am allergic to this so need to know if it’s in my food!

This should not be allowed. Labels should be 100% accurate or there is no point having them.

I didn't know about the rapeseed oil thing tbh. We don't have notices up in our village store and I do most shopping online.
This may explain why my husbands skin problems have flared up again as he has a mild allergic reaction to rapeseed. He's going to be gutted when I eat hide his crisps 🤣

Even though it's so rare that it's not worth considering for anyone to be adversely affected by this?

Even though it would lead to product shortages, increased costs or wasted food or packaging to make the change?

Even though shops have made people aware with signage at their entrances, on their websites and on shelves near the affected products?

Even though the cause of this is the war in Ukraine and there's bigger things going on in the world than this complete non issue?

It's to do with the war in Ukraine.

There's supply issues with sunflower oil so producers are having to source alternative oils for things that would have previously cooked. The idea is they can source and use an approved alternative without changing packaging, which means there won't be a delay in the food getting onto shelves.

It's clearly shown on my online shopping app whenever I log in and I've seen the signs around the supermarket. So we are being informed. It's not a swap if raw oils, and it only affects sunflower oil.

Do you eat eggs OP? Are you aware that there's no such thing as a free range egg at the moment due to bird flu? Are accusing those of being fake labelled as well?

@SnackSizeRaisin But in time the labels will change, that's stated. There is a delay as they are changed.

TBH these oils are in processed and ultra processed foods which are unhealthy choices anyway, so if you don't buy foods with added seed oils then there is no issue!

If you really need cakes, biscuits, pies etc, make your own and use whatever oil/fat you choose @Moonshine5

I think if they are doing things like the PP said where they label it and have signs in store they are doing the best they can really. It's a short term solution hopefully.

I'm just wondering if the OP having accused publicly, on a public forum, a company of doing something they haven't actually done, is guilty of doing the thing she's accusing the company of doing. Except they haven't. But she has.
@Moonshine5

I just hope when the supply of sunflower oil is restored that they go back to using it to help the Ukrainian economy.