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By qarrar
#10661
Some of the UK's best-selling chocolate bars, such as Mars and Twix, will no longer be suitable for vegetarians. Also affecting brands such as Snickers and Maltesers, owner Masterfoods said it had started to use animal product rennet to make its chocolate products.

Masterfoods said the change was due to it switching the sourcing of its ingredients and the admission was a "principled decision" on its part.

The Vegetarian Society said the company's move was "incomprehensible".

Masterfoods said it had started using rennet from 1 May and non-affected products had a "best before date" up to 1 October.

Rennet, a chemical sourced from calves' stomachs, is used in the production of whey.

It will now also be found in Bounty, Minstrels and Milky Way products, and the ice cream versions of all Masterfoods' bars.

"If the customer is an extremely strict vegetarian, then we are sorry the products are no longer suitable, but a less strict vegetarian should enjoy our chocolate," said Paul Goalby, corporate affairs manager for Masterfoods.

The Vegetarian Society said it was "extremely disappointed".

"At a time when more and more consumers are concerned about the provenance of their food, Masterfoods' decision to use non-vegetarian whey is a backward step," it said in a statement.

"Mars products are very popular with young people and many will be shocked to discover that their manufacture now relies on the extraction of rennet from the stomach lining of young calves," it added.

Source BBC
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By qarrar
#10705
Mars has abandoned plans to use animal products in its chocolate, and has apologised to "upset" vegetarians. The firm had said it would change the whey used in some of its products from a vegetarian source to one with traces of the animal enzyme, rennet.

The Vegetarian Society organised a campaign against the move, asking members to voice their concerns to parent company Masterfoods.

Mars said it became "very clear, very quickly" that it had made a mistake.

In just one week, more than 6,000 people bombarded the company, which produces the Mars, Snickers, Maltesers and Galaxy brands, with phone and e-mail complaints.

Forty MPs also signed a petition to voice their opposition.

Fiona Dawson, managing director of Mars UK, said the company had listened to customers and decided to reverse its decision.

"The consumer is our boss and we had lots of feedback from consumers who were unhappy about the change," Ms Dawson said.

"It became very clear, very quickly that we had made a mistake, for which I am sorry.

"There are three million vegetarians in the UK and not only did we disappoint them, but we upset a lot of the consumers."

The Vegetarian Society had called the move by Mars "incomprehensible" and "a backward step" at a time when consumers were increasingly concerned about "the provenance of their food".

Mars replied that, by admitting its products were no longer suitable for "extremely strict vegetarians", it was making a "principled decision".

Now it insists it will begin changing its recipes back immediately.

Dr Annette Pinner, chief executive of the Vegetarian Society, said she was pleased Mars had been "honest enough" to admit it had "made a mistake".

"A Masterfoods representative has made contact with us and we are very pleased that they now recognise the importance of integrity to all their customers, especially vegetarians," she added.

Rennet is extracted from calves' stomachs and was to have been used in the ice cream versions of all Masterfoods' bars too.

Source BBC
By xx_atika_xx
#10707
It makes me wonder when a corporate giant like Mars makes decisions that are frankly absolutely daft! :!:
By xx_atika_xx
#10726
Not from what I have heard. Which is why they initially went ahead with it. Apparently the vegan version of rennet is more expensive. But I could be wrong.
By Fatimah Zahra Karim
#10730
Vegan rennet should be cheaper because it's produced by cultured microbes. Natural rennet comes from the lining of the stomach of young calves...Either way, the whey produced would not be consumed by vegans because whey is made from milk, and vegans do not eat any animal products.
By minhaal2000
#11013
if i'm not wrong I think we're allowed to eat animal rennet arent we ?

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