Graeter’s: The Graeter family is finally able to bring the same level of indulgence to an animal-free, lactose-free dessert.īrave Robot: Utilizing Perfect Day’s animal-free dairy protein ….īrave Robot is also using the word vegan on the side of the container and on their website says the product is “vegan-friendly”, which usually just means vegan.Īlso inconsistent is the use of a disclosure for the dairy protein on the front of the container, which would help alert the consumer. Nick’s: “Nick’s vegan line offers a frozen dessert with the same creaminess as their traditional Swedish-style ice creams, but animal-free and lactose-free.” (Perhaps Perfect Day is using each brand’s own description on the following text from the Perfect Day website.) Each brand uses different labeling conventions and words to describe the product. The Perfect Day website showcases three brands the company calls partners. (When followed by "dairy protein" that is more clear.) While Perfect Day uses the descriptor “animal-free”, even that can be confusing because it can also mean vegan. But because the word vegan has always been understood to mean free of dairy, it’s potentially confusing to use it for a product that contains whey protein.Īnd yet some brands are indeed using the word vegan. Is it vegan? Technically yes since the process does not use traditional animal ingredients. It is certainly challenging to figure out how to label biotech ice cream in a way that is both honest and marketable to consumers in a way they will understand. While the "plant-based" shelf tag mistake is likely the fault of the retailer, given that this biotech ice cream represents an entirely new food category that does not fit into any existing retailer sections, the confusion is not surprising. I had already noticed some inconsistencies in the roll-out of several ice cream brands based on the biotech dairy ingredient created and supplied by Perfect Day.
People’s lives are potentially at risk with the wrong labeling on products containing such a common allergen as dairy protein. This is not your run in the mill deceptive labeling.
Has this new technology been rushed to market without proper legal review? As a food lawyer, seeing mislabeled products sends shivers down my spine. To the contrary, it contains whey protein, which for some people could trigger serious allergic reactions. This is highly problematic given that Brave Robot’s ice cream is made with synthetic biology and is not plant-based. Last week, Food Navigator reporter Elaine Watson tweeted that she spotted the new ice cream brand Brave Robot on shelf with retailer-created tags reading “plant-based.”
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