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Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Alcohol in pudding not clearly displayed

608 replies

Purpledefector · 17/04/2024 06:49

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?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
16
BubblegumBlue24 · 18/04/2024 22:28

DoreenonTill8 · 18/04/2024 22:25

@BubblegumBlue24 did you check for alcohol in your pinot?... did the label say TOXIN?!

😂😂

No… I read this thread and thought adults didn’t have to read labels themselves. Perhaps I should check….

To be fair I was most surprised when I selected it from the shop shelf not to have a staff member pounce on me, twat me over the head with it while wailing it’s toxic, just to help me make an informed decision. 😁

Magnastorm · 18/04/2024 23:52

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

BleedingMeDry · 19/04/2024 00:16

“Again, only the top 14 allergens can be bolded. Alcohol isn't one, neither is meat.”

I never knew that. Very interesting! I must be misremembering the gelatine, as it is often specified as to what type it is (I check) so must be misremembering it as bolded.

I do still wish alcohol was a bolded ingredient (there are certainly a lot of Brits who can’t have it for a number of reasons) but needing to easily highlight common allergens is indeed important.

DisabledDemon · 19/04/2024 01:40

It says 'contains alcohol' on the front. What next? 'Contains nuts'? 'Contains dairy products'? 'Might make you fat'? Good God.

Garlicked · 19/04/2024 01:45

JustGettingStarted · 17/04/2024 07:01

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

The packaging does say.

I'm allergic to sulphites. This means I have to read the ingredients so as to avoid excruciating cramps and projectile vomiting. Sainsbury's publishes the ingredients list of everything they sell. This is so that customers can check the ingredients if there's something they need to avoid.

If you don't bother, it's on you.

Shestolemyboyfriend · 19/04/2024 03:26

There are going to be so many ingredients that people can't have for whatever reason. They can't highlight every ingredient on the off chance that someone can't consume it. The onus is on the consumer to check.

TheCoffeeNebula · 19/04/2024 03:51

People who want to avoid ingredients need to check ingredients.

There are masses of people who recognise that, once producers/retailers have done their part and complied with the regulations, it's up to them to check ingredients and/or nutritional information on products they buy.

There's people with allergies, people with intolerances, vegans, vegetarians, coeliacs, Mormons, Muslims, Jews, other people with religious restrictions, people with alpha-gal syndrome, people on MAOIs, people on Antabuse, people on metronidazole, people with phenylketonuria, people on a medical ketogenic diet, people with liver disease, people with kidney disease, alcoholics, diabetics, people prone to contact dermatitis, people with high blood pressure or high cholesterol, people who just really really hate the taste of certain foods… who have I missed?

You want to avoid even mildly alcoholic foods because of your history with alcohol. Okay, makes perfect sense, there's lots of people in that situation. You don't mention a potential physical health consequence, so presumably the problem is that you feel it could be psychologically dangerous for you to taste alcohol, or to have the knowledge that you've ingested alcohol. That's completely understandable — and entirely your responsibility. You're no less capable of reading the ingredients than any of those other people. You're no less capable of making your own decision about which kinds of items you'll take the risk of not checking, either.

I'm probably more irked by your post than I would otherwise be, because — as well as routinely checking ingredients lists for gluten and nutrition information for sugar — I've had to spend more time than I'd have liked, over the past few years, searching around for and downloading safety data sheets from the internet, cross-referencing them with bafflingly technical Wikipedia pages about chemistry, and trying to make inferences from incomplete data. I do this because I have a family member who reacts badly to a particular set of chemicals that are a common ingredient in toiletries and cleaning products. Unfortunately, cleaning products — even if they're ones that are very likely to get on your skin, like washing-up liquid or surface wipes — don't have to list their ingredients like toiletries do, so I need to do the legwork. I don't get it all nicely presented to me on the back of the packaging, let alone emphasized on the front.

And you're here complaining about not getting an abject enough apology or a big enough compo voucher when you complained that there was a small amount of alcohol in a luxury pudding of a type which commonly contains alcohol. Alcohol which you have already conceded did not, in fact, have any negative psychological impact on you, and which was not only listed in the ingredients for you, but warned about directly above the info panel on the front of the box.

I'll think of you next time I'm hunting around online trying to find a safety data sheet to investigate whether using a particular cleaning product on the bath will turn my family member's skin into a scabby mess.

Yalta · 19/04/2024 06:01

Dacadactyl · 17/04/2024 06:53

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.

Do you check every ingredient before buying something

I would be extremely alarmed by this as I have an abnormally high sensitivity to alcohol to the point that something like this might not put me physically over the limit to drive but make it so that my reaction time and general drunkenness could end up with me killing someone if I were to get behind the wheel of a car.

Abbimae · 19/04/2024 06:10

It was in the ingredients so it was indeed labelled?

PinkLemonade3 · 19/04/2024 06:59

Yalta · 19/04/2024 06:01

Do you check every ingredient before buying something

I would be extremely alarmed by this as I have an abnormally high sensitivity to alcohol to the point that something like this might not put me physically over the limit to drive but make it so that my reaction time and general drunkenness could end up with me killing someone if I were to get behind the wheel of a car.

I check the ingredients of every food that I buy. I check them again when putting them away at home, and a third time when opening and serving.

I would certainly do this if I felt that certain foods could leave me susceptible to killing someone.

soupfiend · 19/04/2024 07:03

ThistleTits · 18/04/2024 18:35

A miniscule amount is an issue for people with alcohol dependency. It doesn't necessarily mean physical dependence, it can also be psychological. Addiction is complex.
Perhaps some sort of symbol could be added to packaging.

What about symbol that looks like this:

Contains Alcohol

?

LunaNorth · 19/04/2024 07:22
Tv Show Fun GIF by Happy Place

Or this?

PuddlesPityParty · 19/04/2024 08:36

Yalta · 19/04/2024 06:01

Do you check every ingredient before buying something

I would be extremely alarmed by this as I have an abnormally high sensitivity to alcohol to the point that something like this might not put me physically over the limit to drive but make it so that my reaction time and general drunkenness could end up with me killing someone if I were to get behind the wheel of a car.

Says it on the front and back of the package. If you are indeed so sensitive to alcohol may I suggest you start check packaging - it’s not uncommon at all for luxury dessert to have alcohol in it. If you’ve missed it on the front and the back you’ve got bigger issues.

TheCoffeeNebula · 19/04/2024 08:39

PuddlesPityParty · 19/04/2024 08:36

Says it on the front and back of the package. If you are indeed so sensitive to alcohol may I suggest you start check packaging - it’s not uncommon at all for luxury dessert to have alcohol in it. If you’ve missed it on the front and the back you’ve got bigger issues.

Either that or give up the driving licence.

Maybe not quite that alarmed, though, eh?

kkloo · 19/04/2024 09:19

TheCoffeeNebula · 19/04/2024 03:51

People who want to avoid ingredients need to check ingredients.

There are masses of people who recognise that, once producers/retailers have done their part and complied with the regulations, it's up to them to check ingredients and/or nutritional information on products they buy.

There's people with allergies, people with intolerances, vegans, vegetarians, coeliacs, Mormons, Muslims, Jews, other people with religious restrictions, people with alpha-gal syndrome, people on MAOIs, people on Antabuse, people on metronidazole, people with phenylketonuria, people on a medical ketogenic diet, people with liver disease, people with kidney disease, alcoholics, diabetics, people prone to contact dermatitis, people with high blood pressure or high cholesterol, people who just really really hate the taste of certain foods… who have I missed?

You want to avoid even mildly alcoholic foods because of your history with alcohol. Okay, makes perfect sense, there's lots of people in that situation. You don't mention a potential physical health consequence, so presumably the problem is that you feel it could be psychologically dangerous for you to taste alcohol, or to have the knowledge that you've ingested alcohol. That's completely understandable — and entirely your responsibility. You're no less capable of reading the ingredients than any of those other people. You're no less capable of making your own decision about which kinds of items you'll take the risk of not checking, either.

I'm probably more irked by your post than I would otherwise be, because — as well as routinely checking ingredients lists for gluten and nutrition information for sugar — I've had to spend more time than I'd have liked, over the past few years, searching around for and downloading safety data sheets from the internet, cross-referencing them with bafflingly technical Wikipedia pages about chemistry, and trying to make inferences from incomplete data. I do this because I have a family member who reacts badly to a particular set of chemicals that are a common ingredient in toiletries and cleaning products. Unfortunately, cleaning products — even if they're ones that are very likely to get on your skin, like washing-up liquid or surface wipes — don't have to list their ingredients like toiletries do, so I need to do the legwork. I don't get it all nicely presented to me on the back of the packaging, let alone emphasized on the front.

And you're here complaining about not getting an abject enough apology or a big enough compo voucher when you complained that there was a small amount of alcohol in a luxury pudding of a type which commonly contains alcohol. Alcohol which you have already conceded did not, in fact, have any negative psychological impact on you, and which was not only listed in the ingredients for you, but warned about directly above the info panel on the front of the box.

I'll think of you next time I'm hunting around online trying to find a safety data sheet to investigate whether using a particular cleaning product on the bath will turn my family member's skin into a scabby mess.

@TheCoffeeNebula
And you're here complaining about not getting an abject enough apology or a big enough compo voucherwhen you complained that there was a small amount of alcohol in a luxury pudding of a type which commonly contains alcohol.

She wrote a thread on MN. Big deal

I've had to spend more time than I'd have liked, over the past few years, searching around for and downloading safety data sheets from the internet, cross-referencing them with bafflingly technical Wikipedia pages about chemistry, and trying to make inferences from incomplete data. I do this because I have a family member who reacts badly to a particular set of chemicals that are a common ingredient in toiletries and cleaning products. Unfortunately, cleaning products — even if they're ones that are very likely to get on your skin, like washing-up liquid or surface wipes — don't have to list their ingredients like toiletries do, so I need to do the legwork.

......

I'll think of you next time I'm hunting around online trying to find a safety data sheet to investigate whether using a particular cleaning product on the bath will turn my family member's skin into a scabby mess.

This doesn't evoke the sympathy you think it will, especially when you're being so snotty to the OP. Lots of people in that situation would make their own cleaning products and toiletries or buy more natural ones. We don't need surface wipes etc or cleaning products full of loads of chemicals to clean baths!

TheCoffeeNebula · 19/04/2024 09:37

kkloo · 19/04/2024 09:19

@TheCoffeeNebula
And you're here complaining about not getting an abject enough apology or a big enough compo voucherwhen you complained that there was a small amount of alcohol in a luxury pudding of a type which commonly contains alcohol.

She wrote a thread on MN. Big deal

I've had to spend more time than I'd have liked, over the past few years, searching around for and downloading safety data sheets from the internet, cross-referencing them with bafflingly technical Wikipedia pages about chemistry, and trying to make inferences from incomplete data. I do this because I have a family member who reacts badly to a particular set of chemicals that are a common ingredient in toiletries and cleaning products. Unfortunately, cleaning products — even if they're ones that are very likely to get on your skin, like washing-up liquid or surface wipes — don't have to list their ingredients like toiletries do, so I need to do the legwork.

......

I'll think of you next time I'm hunting around online trying to find a safety data sheet to investigate whether using a particular cleaning product on the bath will turn my family member's skin into a scabby mess.

This doesn't evoke the sympathy you think it will, especially when you're being so snotty to the OP. Lots of people in that situation would make their own cleaning products and toiletries or buy more natural ones. We don't need surface wipes etc or cleaning products full of loads of chemicals to clean baths!

I don't want to evoke sympathy, I want to express my scorn at OP's feigned helplessness in the face of people selling her clearly-labelled food. And I did.

VoiceOfCommonSense · 19/04/2024 09:46

Purpledefector · 17/04/2024 06:49

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?

I’m really sorry. I hope this hasn’t been triggering or anything for you. You seem to have done well with your sobriety. Just keep thinking about that and don’t let this little bump get in the way of it. Try and put it out of your head.

NoBinturongsHereMate · 19/04/2024 09:52

Yalta · 19/04/2024 06:01

Do you check every ingredient before buying something

I would be extremely alarmed by this as I have an abnormally high sensitivity to alcohol to the point that something like this might not put me physically over the limit to drive but make it so that my reaction time and general drunkenness could end up with me killing someone if I were to get behind the wheel of a car.

Then you should definitely read every ingredients list, every time.

I do, and my dairy allergy doesn't risk killing or injuring anyone else. (I'm also intolerant to peppers and intensely dislike coriander, so also check all ingredients for those - which are not in bold like milk).

kkloo · 19/04/2024 09:55

TheCoffeeNebula · 19/04/2024 09:37

I don't want to evoke sympathy, I want to express my scorn at OP's feigned helplessness in the face of people selling her clearly-labelled food. And I did.

Oh your scorn came across alright as you tried to make out like you have real problems compared to the OP because you have to painstakingly cross reference all the wikipedia articles 🙄even though you don't actually have to do that, it's that's a choice you're making so that you can continue using those kinds of products.

OP didn't deserve your 'scorn' 😂

TheCoffeeNebula · 19/04/2024 10:21

kkloo · 19/04/2024 09:55

Oh your scorn came across alright as you tried to make out like you have real problems compared to the OP because you have to painstakingly cross reference all the wikipedia articles 🙄even though you don't actually have to do that, it's that's a choice you're making so that you can continue using those kinds of products.

OP didn't deserve your 'scorn' 😂

Edited

OP complained to the company because she couldn't be bothered to check the easily-available info for the ingredient she supposedly cares so much about avoiding (though she did admit she wasn't actually that bothered when it happened, just peeved at missing out on pudding). She thinks checking the ingredients of stuff she buys is too much to ask. I described what it's like to actually have difficulty accessing info about product contents, and though I get fed up with checking product labels for gluten, the lack of info on cleaning products shows how good we actually have it with most products. Checking labels is a pain in the arse, but it's one that millions of people have to accept, and OP isn't more special than them.

If OP had been genuinely distressed about having inadvertently eaten it, and looking for support, I wouldn't have posted. But she wasn't. She just wanted validation about "taking it further" when a) the information was easily available to her and b) the company had already been very accommodating and helpful plus offered a £10 goodwill token.

OP wants to put in zero effort, and cause extra work for other people for no good reason.

kkloo · 19/04/2024 10:43

TheCoffeeNebula · 19/04/2024 10:21

OP complained to the company because she couldn't be bothered to check the easily-available info for the ingredient she supposedly cares so much about avoiding (though she did admit she wasn't actually that bothered when it happened, just peeved at missing out on pudding). She thinks checking the ingredients of stuff she buys is too much to ask. I described what it's like to actually have difficulty accessing info about product contents, and though I get fed up with checking product labels for gluten, the lack of info on cleaning products shows how good we actually have it with most products. Checking labels is a pain in the arse, but it's one that millions of people have to accept, and OP isn't more special than them.

If OP had been genuinely distressed about having inadvertently eaten it, and looking for support, I wouldn't have posted. But she wasn't. She just wanted validation about "taking it further" when a) the information was easily available to her and b) the company had already been very accommodating and helpful plus offered a £10 goodwill token.

OP wants to put in zero effort, and cause extra work for other people for no good reason.

Edited

So what if she did? She was triggered.

You clearly get triggered yourself, which was obvious by your post where you were outraged that she had dared to complain about this.

Why do you even care that she complained to the company? I'm sure they deal with complaints all day long. You joined the pile on to pour on your 'scorn' so why are you judging someone for complaining to a company?

In a response to another poster where the poster said she as a recovering alcoholic she understood why she was upset, because she probably felt like she'd broken the promise to herself, the OP said she understood that because she already had that that experience last year where she was literally distraught at there being alcohol in a dessert at restaurant so she's done a lot of processing since then.

So even though this time round she cared more about missing out on the dessert she was expecting she was probably also thinking about others who might get the same surprise from the dessert and feel distraught too

You didn't just describe what it was like to have to find data, you were like "I'll think of you next time I'm hunting around online trying to find a safety data sheet to investigate whether using a particular cleaning product on the bath will turn my family member's skin into a scabby mess."

Very much implying you had real problems and she didn't.

As for making more work for other people, even if the OPs complaint had been successful and sainsburys decided to make it more visible going forward, what extra work does that involve exactly 😂Coming up with a more visible logo or marking to add to the contains alcohol writing? Oh wow big deal

OneTC · 19/04/2024 11:23

Why do you even care that she complained to the company?

OP invited opinion with her thread

OneTC · 19/04/2024 11:28

No amount of signage conveys the message you wish to convey when people do not read the signs.

Meanwhile people that do read signs and labels just somehow seem to manage

inamarina · 19/04/2024 12:22

CelesteCunningham · 17/04/2024 11:56

It is not a top 14 allergen and so I'm pretty sure they can't bold it on the ingredients list as that would dilute the allergen messaging.

People also seem to be forgetting that Sainsbury’s is a business, trying to sell products, not a public education service.
The packaging will be designed in such way that it’s as appealing as possible to potential customers, while containing all important information. It’s not in their interest to plaster warnings all over it.
They do what they have to do though, i.e. listing the ingredients, and they also put “contains alcohol” on the front.

kkloo · 19/04/2024 14:02

OneTC · 19/04/2024 11:23

Why do you even care that she complained to the company?

OP invited opinion with her thread

And 'scorn' apparently.

Swipe left for the next trending thread