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?

it was on the ingredients so I don’t think there was anything official wrong with the packaging the description you quote was just the ‘marketing speak’ not the definition

unfortunately small print in many food scenarios can be ‘disappointing/excluding’ but does need reading as that is where this stuff is supposed to be stated

those with allergies get the marketing speak the ingredients and then a catch all that very often says allergens may have been on the manufacturers production line/ in facility thereby removing any joy from the absence of said allergen in the ingredients or marketing speak!

Yet the apologised and gave the op money by way of compensation even though it CLEARLY states 'contains alcohol' on the front of the item and is listed in the ingredients!

Jeeze!

@ButterCrackers Milbona twin dessert of profiteroles contains alcohol. Sold in Lidl.

I don't think the large family sized one does.

@TeabySea but they've updated it since the first post! Do you not read the updates?

That’s what I thought. I wouldn’t t do any cooking if making that dessert from scratch.

It's my understanding that it's not Haram if consumed unknowingly.

I personally think it should be bleeding obviously written on the packet! Some people do not like alcohol, want to avoid it for a number of reasons including religious.

That doesn't stop it potentially being a trigger for someone with a history of alcohol abuse.

They can read the ingredients then.
People with coeliac disease, for example, manage it all the time. Ditto nut allergies which can kill some people and quite quickly too.

this.

Alcohol was on the list of ingredients. As a recovering alcoholic it is your responsibility to check labels. You didn't do your due diligence. This is on you, not the store or the product.

Well if it's on the ingredients that's OK... but they should have had a little sign posted by it I suppose - saying it's got alcohol in it... Who the fuck reads the ingredients when they're out buying a cake at a cafe? Unless they have nut allergies! You got a gift voucher though, so that's the end of the matter for you @Purpledefector But they could do with making the alcohol content a bit more clear.

My husband was teetotal for a few years in the early 2010s ... (7 years I think.) And about 5 years ago he thought 'I really fancy trying this dessert it looks nice..' It was tiramisu from Aldi. We had it 5 or 6 times over about 2 months before we actually realised there was alcohol in it ... I know, daft because you can taste it and we realised after a while!

He was absolutely fuming after spending almost 7 years completely teetotal ... After that he stopped being teetotal but still has a drink of alcohol maybe 5 to 8 times a year.

And it's next to storage and use by guidance so I always check those things so my eye is drawn to it quite quickly

Very clear for me

Was he trying to win a bet or something?

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

It says Contains alcohol on the front.

No.

So why did a few mouthfuls of alcohol in a dessert upset him so much?

You don't always cook a cold dessert, sherry in a trifle for example.

@Purpledefector I don't consume any alcohol for different reasons and it can be really frustrating that it's not more clearly marked in ingredients lists and that's so widely used in food when there are a lot of people who can't consume it for various reasons.

Unless they have nut allergies!

Always worth highlighting when allergies are mentioned - nut and peanut allergies are not necessarily any more serious than other allergies. Other common allergens include milk, egg and sesame but any food can cause an allergic reaction.

Some people with serious allergies struggle to have them taken seriously "because it's not as if it's a nut allergy", hence flagging it.

Unless you have other guidance from the person with the allergy, all allergies should be treated as equally serious.

Yes good points. Fair enough.

I work in substance misuse and we prescribe a medication which can be very dangerous if you ingest alcohol so for those saying it's not life threatening, for some it could be.

Although I agree of you can't have or don't want to have alcohol you probably need to check labels as it is so common in many prepackaged foods.

Reading this has made me realise something . I’m on day 110 of no alcohol, at least I thought I was. I have developed an addiction to Tirimasu - especially the Waitrose one and have some at least 3 or 4 times a week - I sort of knew it contains alcohol but thought it was so negligible it didn’t count. I think I might be kidding myself 😥

Good points.