VeganMoFo Day #7: This Is What Gets My Goat!

This is not a very pleasant food-related entry.  I just found out that I really really really have to read the fine print even for food.  As a vegan, this really gets my goat.  As a consumer, this really peeves me big time.  Thank God I don't have any food allergy.  I shutter to think what would happen if someone with a serious allergy happened to have swallowed big bites of what makes them dangerously sick.

Last night, we walked into the Publix and began shopping as usual.  It so happened that the five-grain bread we so loved wasn't available.  We were rather disappointed; however, I spotted a jar of really interesting-looking cream of some sort.  I picked it up.  I saw "artichoke" and my heart began to race.  It was a jar of Gia Russa Artichoke Bruschetta Topping and "Product of Italy" kept singing to me.  Holy smoke!  I almost wanted to jump up and down right there.  But, we've learned to really study the ingredients.  I went on carefully and Good Lord, it was vegan!  I even went beyond the ingredient list and saw below that "keep refrigerated after opening" and blah blah blah, the usual bit.  My hubby and I were both really excited.  Just for fun, we also bought a jar of the sweet peppers topping of the same brand.

This morning, my hubby prepared a nice bowl of broccoli and bread with artichoke topping.  I was so excited about it that I happened to pick up the jar and began reading again.  Guess what?  Below all that usual bit, there was another line that I should have noticed before: "The flavors contain soybeans, eggs and wheat traces."  My jaw dropped.  I searched quickly in the ingredient list.  There was one item "flavors", but there was asterisk next to it.  There was no parentheses next to it.  But that line "The flavors contain soybeans, eggs and wheat traces." seemed so bold and ugly now.  Is this a quiz test?  Is this a psychological test to see how patient you are and how testy you get after you're fooled?  If that line is intended for people with allergies to see, don't you think it should have been on top bold, or at least right below the ingredient list?  It should have been in the ingredient list.  Maybe the company should also add a line - "The legal bit: If you happen to miss a couple of ingredients (which we fully expect you to), you are dead!"

So this is the culprit, guilty as charged.  NON VEGAN artichoke bruschetta topping.

My hubby dumped his first breakfast with big disappointment.  He prepared another plate of broccoli with the sweet pepper topping (which luckily was vegan) and fortunately it turned out to be a better tasting meal.

We learned a big lesson though.  We WILL read all that fine print from now on, as if we had serious allergies.