Alcohol in pudding not clearly displayed

[Purpledefector]

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?

Cooking normally removes the alcohol content, leaving just the flavour

What response do you feel would be appropriate?

I totally agree, it should be very clearly labeled as having alcohol.

Definitely pursue this, and good luck OP.

What other response are you looking for? They are looking at it with the packaging department - that seems exactly the right response?

Well done on your sobriety!

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.

But it doesn’t really, the amount would be so minuscule that it’s negligible (or they would have to put abv on it). You’ve made your point but ultimately it was labelled so not sure what you want to achieve. I don’t think it’s unusual for this type of dessert to contain alcohol so in future you will check.

I agree that the onus on you is to check. I have to check all packaging for nut content (dh allergy) and not everything has a red flashing label or is described as 'nutty' so why would alcohol need to be? It's consumption might be upsetting for you but not life threatening, like it would be to many with allergies.

While I agree with this I guess the flavour may be an issue to someone with a historic alcohol issue? Might set off cravings. I’m sorry OP and while I agree it would be good if the packaging was clearer I guess you need to treat it as an allergy and read ingredients of new products. Dd has coeliac disease and I have to scan stuff for gluten, it becomes second nature.

I can understand this might be a bit upsetting for you but it really is on you to check the packaging. A negligibly small, non active trace of alcohol will not be a problem for most people. It is disclosed, they aren't hiding it and I don't think it needs to have a trigger warning too?

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

Looking at the packaging online and I agree it’s not even in bold and I would potentially give them to an under 18 so it should be
that said warnings for food seem to be over 1.2% whereas I think contains alcohol should be at the front

What else are you expecting them to do? I think their response was proportionate in these circumstances.

The packaging did say something. It said alcohol in the ingredients.
I too have a thing I need to avoid - so I always check the ingredients. I don't need it flagged up apart from that: it's nice when it is but the fact that it isn't doesn't stop me from checking.

It would also be unsuitable for anyone who avoids alcohol for religious reasons.

You shouldn't have to scrutinise tiny print on the back of the packaging to find this information out.

I'm not saying they need to go to ridiculous lengths like when bags of nuts are labelled as 'contains nuts' or a bottle of gin states 'contains alcohol in a big yellow stripe on the front' but if it's not immediately obvious from the product and the title, as in this case, there should be something reasonably prominent on the front to state the product contains alcohol.

This.

Well done on your sobriety!

//

And also this OP. That's fantastic.

No one gets to tell you that a small amount of alcohol or the flavour of alcohol is no big deal.

Alcohol is an addictive and restricted product, so I think it should be clearly labelled in the name of the food or the sub line. No matter the amount.

I say this as someone who drinks moderately on a weekly basis.

Congratulations on your sobriety! That's a massive achievement, so huge congratulations.

I don't think it's worth taking this further, though, they've said they will feedback to the packaging department, and they have made suggestion.

I do understand why it would be frustrating, but I think it's probably best to move on.

This product isn't cooked though. It's a mix of melted chocolate, marscapone, hazelnuts and booze on a sponge base.

The alcohol will still be in there, similar to chocolate truffle filling.

I know that the bonne Maman rum baba are tagged as an alcohol product so you need an assistant as can’t be sold to under 18’s so it’s odd that it’s not flagged too, although as others have said if the process cooks it then it’s classed as not really containing alcohol. Well done on your sobriety.

I now see that it does say 'contains alcohol' on the front but it could be made a bit more prominent.

https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/summer-ttd-mealdeal/sainsburys-chocolate-hazelnut-pots-taste-the-difference-2x95g

I'm not an alcoholic but I really dislike the taste of alcohol. I think if it is a prominent flavour it should really be pretty clear. It'd be like buying orange chocolate but they just say chocolate on the front and you have to read the ingredients to see that its actually orange flavour.

I don't think you'll get very far. It was labelled in the ingredients but wasn't declared on the front of the packaging. Lots of things which are dangerous to people are the same. While some packaging will make a song and dance about the inclusion and absence of things on the front, everyone with allergies and coeliacs are still stood around in the shop scanning the ingredients list.

If you have something you need to avoid you always check the ingredients. DM is vegan and it’s not a given a packet of veg isn’t vegan because there might be a meat byproduct in the preservatives for example.

It doesn’t sound like the kind of dessert which has been cooked though.

And actually it’s not true that cooking removes all the alcohol. It will remove some, but the length of time you need to cook something for to remove all alcohol is incredibly high, and so if you cook with alcohol there will still be some alcohol present.