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?

As I set out with my artificial sweetners example, yes, every single thing

Do you know what they crop up in, medicines a lot, jars of things which are savoury, some snack bars/snacks, Ive even seen them in crisps, cant remember which ones now, in the flavourings basically.

Ive just remembered they're in Gaviscon. And lemsip. Various cough mixtures. Vitamin supplements.

You're not looking to avoid a particular ingredient though are you? So your question is somewhat irrelevant. Unless the poster you replied to has already said they avoid alcohol in products?

I suspect that is the problem - it’s not an identifiable alcohol like rum or Marsala that would sell the product.

Its a choice to be a practising Muslim isnt it, same as any religion

I don't think you were unreasonable OP. That isn't the kind of dessert I would usually expect to contain alcohol so I wouldn't usually check the ingredients.

It's different if it's something like a tiramisu which usually contains alcohol.

If you read the dessert description, it actually seems to be based on a tiramisu in some ways tbf.

I've just looked at the wine I've just opened.

The only indication that it contains alcohol is the % of it in tiny letters on the label.

If I email Asda, can I get a £10 voucher too?

It really is.

It literally says "contains alcohol" on the front of the packaging, listed in the ingredients and on the product page a 3rd time on the sainsbury's website.

If you miss all of those, you maybe want to pay a bit more attention to what you are buying and eating.

For increased targeting of sales. It's a different matter altogether. There's no requirement to label vegetarian/vegan foods. The marketers do it so that the veggies don't miss their product. It's not a warning. Not all vegan foods are labelled. Polo mints, bourbon biscuits, Oreos etc. Veg(an) foods are labelled for what they don't contain.

I generally am trying to avoid giving my children vodka tbh. I'd have just previously felt a little paranoid and ott to be scrutinising every item in case someone's added it to the small print.

Alcohol is a toxin. It needs to be clearly stated as present on the packaging. This packaging is not clear.

It's stated more clearly than allergens that could kill people.

It's very obvious on this thread which posters have no experience of checking food labels!

Alcohol is a toxin.

Really? You never mentioned this…..

It literally says "contains alcohol" on the front and the back. What more do people want?

They want it to say 'CONTAINS ALCOHOL'.

Once again, the amount of alcohol in a product that is not age restricted is not enough to hurt anyone. There is as much in a couple of over-ripe bananas.

Not matter how many times you say it, it doesn't stop being nonsense.

Sadly it’s not nonsense. Alcohol is a toxin to the body. The liver processes the alcohol rapidly because it is a danger. You can go on about bananas and the wine that you’re drinking but do have a think about what you’re putting into your body right now.

We want it to say it in the name or description.
Why is that so difficult to understand? It really shouldn't be that difficult at all.

Currently I'm eating a delicious flapjack. It's lovely, thank you.

And you are, without doubt, talking out of your arse.

The product was labelled twice with "contains alcohol" for an amount of booze that cannot hurt anyone. Meanwhile, you want the messaging for actual allergens to be diluted because... reasons.

I mean, what more do you want? A fucking barbershop quartet standing next to it singing a warning to you?

Complete & utter tangent, but it involves supermarkets and alcohol….

…..why on earth do they put the non alcoholic versions right next to the alcoholic versions, and not with the soft drinks?

If you’re struggling with an alcohol problem, you have to walk amongst the alcohol aisles to access the booze-free alternatives. Seems stupid.

Ok, rant over!

I would think that listing every ingredient contained within a food product would start to get a bit long winded after a while.

I mean, my flapjack would have to be called a chocolate porridge oat sugar golden syrup butter bar, and honestly there isn't enough room on the label for that even before you get down to some of the other things.

Nope - I’ve not said anything about diluting the allergy notifications.

If you wouldnt want your kids to absorb ANY alcohol, (whereas I wouldnt mind my kids having these chocolate pots), then presumably yes you would check ingredients, certainly medicines, chocolates

Im unclear why there is such a clamour on this thread to claim that alcohol in puds or chocolate puds is unusual, its very usual.

I don't think people who struggle with alcohol problems are supposed to be drinking the alcohol free versions either though are they?
Some of the alcohol free drinks do also have small amounts of alcohol. Heineken 0.0 has a very small amount but it's in it all the same. I'm not sure how that's written on the can though!

I believe that for some who struggle with alcohol that the non-alcoholic versions can lead them back to the alcoholic ones but I suppose there probably are some people who find it helpful!

Some supermarket deserts have booze added and its never cooked at all, like tiramisu or trifle. If OP could taste 'alcohol' rather than 'wine' or 'whiskey' then it was still there.