vegan columbus: vegan living in central ohio

Am I the only one in the world that were duped by Quorn's packaging into thinking it was vegan when it wasn't? The letter I received in response to my complaint seemed so scripted and vaguely irrelevant to my claim that I can't help but wonder if this is a common complaint.

Here's the problem: There's one of those lovely green labels that says "vegetarian friendly". However, the animal ingredients aren't listed with the regular ingredients. On Quorn fake chicken breasts, they're listed under a separate subheading of allergy information. Meanwhile, on every other one of the thousands of nutrition labels I've read, when allergy warnings are given they merely repeat the ingredients (which I already read) instead of giving new information.

I wrote to Quorn and for some reason Customer Care Manager Jill Page (Mrs) felt the need to first put me in my place by explaining to me the distinction between vegetarians and vegans. Then, she explained how they've reduced the amount of egg albumen (oh yay), but can't get it quite right somehow because of GMO restrictions in Europe.

Another fun fact from Jill Page (MRS)'s informative email: "Whilst we market our products as suitable for vegetarians, they are not exclusively so, and a large proportion of our products are consumed by meat eaters and meat reducers, as alternative protein sources to meat." This is basically saying they don't depend on the vegan market (good thing) so oh well!

Unlike other organizations I've issued complaints to (e.g. Tom's of Maine, who gave a swift, generous refund), there was no mention of a potential refund or even an apology. There was even a lovely little disclaimer at the bottom that said the following:

The information contained in this email is confidential and may be privileged. It is intended for the named recipient only...Do not copy, distribute, disclose or take any action in reliance in the contents of this email without the senders consent. The statements and opinions expressed in the message (including any attachments) are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the company. The company does not take any responsibility for the views of the author. No changes to Terms and Conditions of trade can be accepted through e-mail communication. All changes to Terms and Conditions must be in writing evidenced by a director of the company in hard copy format.

Well, too bad, Quorn / Jill Page. I'm pretty sure you can't invoke the Patriot Act here.

I'm not giving up until I get justice or at least a refund. Ideally, all food that's not vegan will one day have "NOT VEGAN" warning labels. Until that revolution, I guess my beef with Quorn will have to suffice. Join me in corresponding with Quorn and Jill Page (MRS) at customer.services@marlowfoods.com.