Product recall...

 So, whilst reading the news this morning, I spot an article about supermarkets recalling products. As I shop at some of those supermarkets, I click on it out of moderate interest, to see if I've bought any of the affected products.

Fortunately, none of the recalled items are on our shopping list, (although we've eaten, without any ill effects, some potentially-salmonella contaminated frozen cockles a couple of weeks ago) but somewhere on that list I spot something I still quite can't believe is possible. 

Waitrose (now, I don't shop at Waitrose but I won't elaborate on why in this post) is recalling some Halloumi CHEESE because...are you ready for this? Because the 'product contains MILK' which is a potential allergen and is not displayed on the label in English. 

Beyond the fact that yes there are rules about labelling and yes I'd like to know what's in the stuff I buy on the rare occasion I buy items that have more than 3 ingredients (we don't really eat processed food, but I also have a moderate peanut allergy so I keep an eye out on things like marinades etc when I buy them for my boys), what sort of person puts CHEESE in their shopping basket and is SURPRISED that it contains milk???? Does it really require an explicit label in English? 

A situation like this speaks a lot about:

a. the 'food industry' that has brought us to a stage where it is, actually, possible to purchase 'cheese' which does not contain milk, therefore making it necessary to add milk as an ingredient on the cheese that DOES contain milk. 

b. the nation's willingness to go for fad 'diets' that require dishing out vast amount of cash you don't have to buy artificial nonsense disguised to look like the actual food you either can't or choose not to eat for various valid or spurious reasons. If you want to eat vegetables, not eat meat, can't touch fish or nuts and gluten make you ill, just for God's sake EAT what works for you and DON'T eat what doesn't. I do not understand why eating the pretend, fake version of the items that they wish to remove from their lives is acceptable (I have a theory but I want to keep this post short). Just stop eating bread or pasta instead of shelling out on 'gluten free' this or that. Eat vegetables, not 'mock meat'. Don't eat cheese if you have a lactose allergy or object to the exploitation of lactating mammals. It's really quite simple. (oh I do make an exception if you make the choice because you LIKE the taste of the 'mock' version better than the original version. but I should think that situation is quite rare). 

c. the scary lack of understanding of what food is, how it affects our bodies and influences our health. 

d. the extremes to which people expect 'regulators' to take responsibility for their lives (this would be a very good segues in clarifying why we are in the current lockdown situation but that's another post for another day).

So, Waitrose, I'd like to know, what do you do with all that lovely halloumi that you can't sell because the label doesn't say IN ENGLISH that it's made of the main raw material involved in the production of cheese worldwide for the past 10,000 years or so?

I really hope you're not throwing it away. We're wasting enough food as it is in the 'civilised' world. If you are planning to throw it away, I could do with a few packs. I can't really afford to buy it at the prices you usually charge but I'll happily take it off your hands as I'm sure it's totally delicious.

And by the way, all the other stuff that's being recalled because the 'food plant' employees couldn't be bothered to wash their hands after using the loo (therefore potentially contaminating tons of food with Salmonella), I'm not worried about THAT going to waste. I'm very happy with all supermarkets and manufacturers just dumping that.

PS. Here's the link to the Waitrose recall list, in case you think I am making this up Product Recalls (waitrose.com)