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Tesco shopper baffled to discover some fruit isn’t suitable for vegans
The woman took to Twitter to share her ‘shocking’ discovery
A Tesco shopper was shocked to discover that some of the fruit she was looking to buy in the supermarket ‘wasn’t suitable for vegans’.
In a now-deleted tweet, the woman explained that she was browsing the supermarket’s selection of oranges, satsumas and mandarins when she noticed that some of them were labelled as non-vegan, as per The Manchester Evening News.
Tweeting about her shock, she wrote: “I am shocked to find out that the oranges I was trying to buy all day are not vegan. Pfft.”
The woman explained that she also shopped for the oranges on the Tesco website, where the ‘Tesco Finest Emperor Oranges 4 Pack’ were again labelled as non-vegan items.
While the fruit is obviously vegan, the reason for the non-vegan label lays with the pesticides and chemicals used to make the fruit grow and look better.
Imazalil – banned in all but tiny amounts – is the common non-vegan item used by growers on their fruit and veg. The E904 version of the chemical, as it will be shown on any label, is a wax made of shellac.
Vegans don’t eat shellac as it comes from animals and therefore isn’t part of a plant based diet.
The added chemical also drew attention to the hazardous pesticide Propiconazole, which is banned apart from tiny amounts by the EU thanks to its cancer increasing qualities. However, now that the UK has left Europe, Propiconazole is no longer regulated as harshly and is being used as a pesticide on fruit and veg.
Other social media users were quick to slam Tesco for the label, with one person pointing out: “When fruit isn’t suitable for Vegans you know something bad is happening.”
Another questioned: “Sorry [sic] on what planet are oranges not suitable for vegans?”
Tesco has since addressed the backlash, saying in a statement that all their oranges are suitable for vegans but some oranges are labelled ‘non-vegan’ due to the wax applied post-harvest which contains shellac which helps keep fruit fresh.
They said it is a common treatment for conventional citrus packing in the industry, and are currently working with growers to develop a vegan-friendly alternative.