To not expect to find BEEF in my vegetarian chilli

[Katiekitty]

Last night I opened a tin of chilli for dinner (I know, I know, just call me Nigella!), I cooked it, started tucking in when, what's this? I pulled out a forkfull of beef!beef I ask you! Not strictly a vegetable... Not what I expected, nor what I wanted as I'm a vegetarian and it said clearly on the label 'suitable for vegetarians' and indeed, for vegans. Not in my book.
AIBU to expect my vegetarian dinner to be beef-free?

Didn't mcdonalds have to pay millions of pounds in compensation for selling 'vegetarian' french fries cooked in beef fat?

omg i can't believe how long this has been going on.

do tell us if anything has happened!

Was thinking about this over christmas....

so was I , i have it on watched thread list...i just want to know what it was...

I have news dear mnetters... yes, it was a lump of meat, they tested it for the 'big four' ie cow, lamb, pig and (eek) horse but the dna in it could not be defined. This means it could indeed be dog, rodent or (bleurg) human.

It took so long because it had to undergo about three different testings in a lab.

I've contacted the manufacturers through my colicitor and they (the manufacturers) have been, let me put it diplomatically, unhelpful, so I am taking it into the public arena. They are aware of this and aren not at all concerned, so DAILY MAIL here I come - watch this space! Thank you all for staying interested in the story, I think it might be about to get alot more interesting!

JESUS! - VILE. Poor you.

Well i am vegetarian and i can assure you that although i have not ever bought this product there is no way on earth i would ever consider doing so now!

Imagine if it had been meat chilli, you would have happily gobbled up the possible human remains without even batting an eyelid. How horrible. And how disgusting that the manufacturer is not even interested!

xx

My Mum tried to increase my protein at Christmas. We had a curry one day and she provided 'vegetarian' samosas. They were chicken!!! I am questioning her literacy skills now!

It's awful! The manufacturers have said that if I wanted to pursue a claim, I would have to take the shop I bought it from to court (the co-op) and they would then counter sue the manufacturers. They offered me £50 compensation, which to put it mildly was insulting because of the health issues in question, let alone the ethical and labelling issues. I rejected the compensation immediately.

They were totally disinterested and have refused to do a product recall of the batch containing unidentified meat, so it's still out there somewhere (it's still in date) and of course, over the past 11 months, people have been eating it.

Omg, I bet it was a finger! Gross gross gross!
My mum once found a dead worm in a tin of peas from Sainsbury's.

Wotulookingat - what action did your mum take and waht was the result?

She went to Sainsbury's with the worm and got a voucher. She should have taken it further but didn't at the time.

Brings a whole new meaning to 'Opening up a Tin of Worms'...

Yuk.

Perhaps this is the reason I needed to get off my lazy arse and MAKE food rather than heat it..at least then I'll know what I'm getting eh?

(disclaimer.. not saying OP is lazy, this is simply MY excuse for bunging something in micro or oven. it's too darn useful!)

The refusal to recall is th most sickening part of it all! Can't Enviro Health/Trading standards/HSE force them to do so in the circs. Surely there is a public health implication?

lets hope the Daily Mail gets the word out there and that the uneaten tins will be binned by the poor consumers who have them sitting in their kitchen cupboards.

The refusal to recall is th most sickening part of it all! Can't Enviro Health/Trading standards/HSE force them to do so in the circs. Surely there is a public health implication?

lets hope the Daily Mail gets the word out there and that the uneaten tins will be binned by the poor consumers who have them sitting in their kitchen cupboards.

I am a bit lazy, but also without a cooker, so my options for hot dinners had to come from a tin or a packet!

I'm contacting Trading Standards at the moment too so I will see what they have to say.

Environmental Health were the people who I initially contacted and they took the meat away for testing.

Don't buy Stagg Vegetarian Chilli!

OMG that's horrendous - unidentified meat? I dread to think what that might mean! We are veggie too and the thought of eating identifiable meat makes me feel ill! I cannot believe they are not recalling the product

I think there is a Food Standards Agency. might be worth contacting them too.

Here are the details for food standards agency. Just checked their web homepage and they do have enforcement powers re food safety:

General enquiries
If you wish to make a telephone enquiry you can ring our helpline.
tel: 020 7276 8829
email: [email protected]

Hope this helps you in your attempts to get the product off shop shelves.

Thank you tinseltot, that's really useful.
I'll get in touch with them...

I can't believe it took so long to do the tests. God knows how many people have actually eaten other tins with the stuff in it in the meantime.

bleurgh indeed! My money is on rat.

also try talking to vegetarian society.

Good lord, KatieKitty, what a horrible experience. And what amateur lawyer at the company said you would have to sue the shop you bought it from? Under contract law yes, originally you would have. But under Tort law (the very well known Donoghue v Stevenson) not to mention the raft of consumer legislation which now expressly gives an end user the ability to sue manufactures you can sue them direct!

OMG.

At least someone should do more tests to identify it. Thats disgusting.

I would sue them, they will probably pay you off before court. I think that you deserve to be compensated (largely) for what is horrific.