I bought a pot of yoghurt with apricot compote at lunch yesterday from the JCR. Just as I was lifting off the lid to tuck in I noticed a little bit of small print: “This product contains nuts”. Sorry, come again? It’s a pot of yoghurt with apricot. Show me the nuts.
Yoghurt and Apricot Compote: "This product contains nuts"
A lot of food companies cover themselves by warning that their products may contain traces of nuts. Fair enough, if your production is so sloppy that you can’t guarantee a couple of peanuts won’t slip into a Mars bar then it’s only right to alert people with allergies. Whatever. It pisses me off I can’t eat Mars bars anymore without taking my life into my own hands, but I can at least understand where Mars are coming from.
But it’s a big leap from warning that your product may contain traces of nuts to claiming that your product contains full on nuts in all instances. Prawn mayo sandwich? Contains nuts. Tomato soup? Contains nuts.
Grow up Imperial College catering. Yes, there are nefarious nuts out there who are intent on getting you sued by jumping out of their bag into the yoghurt, but such sentient nuts are mercifully rare. If you can’t throw some yoghurt into a pot and scoop a dollop of compote on top without compulsively sprinkling in a handful of nuts then I dread to think what goes into the SCR’s beef bourguignon.
