OT : Mystified by Walkers' Smokey Bacon crisps

[gareth evans]

How is it that the packets are printed to say Suitable For Vegetarians?

[alan_m]

During the foot and mouth outbreak didn't they have to publicise that their beef flavoured crisps contained no beef?

[Paul]

In the news just yesterday, it was revealed that the people who made the plant-based hamburger "meat", now have a plant-based one that tastes like "bacon".

You don't have to make a "crisp" with real bacon. You could use "liquid smoke", which is a chemical which gives nominally smoked products, a smoky essence. They have some pretty evil liquids for such purposes.

If a chemist can invent Lysol spray, well, they can make just about anything else. Making liquid smoke would be a doddle for them.

And of course there's a Wiki for it :-) It looks, um, delicious. Why couldn't the sample liquid be in a beaker, where it belongs ?

Paul

[Sysadmin]

Another set of allergies for sufferers.

[Jeff Layman]

Probably because it doesn't contain meat. The ingredients contain "smoky bacon flavouring", and that is broken down into various components (including just "flavouring" - whatever that means). I can only assume that Walkers' legal advisers have approved the "Smoky Bacon Crisps" name on the pack, even though it does not contain bacon.

Looking through the pictures of all Walkers' crisp packets on their website, only their "Flamin' hot" and "Marmite" packets show anything other than just a potato and crisp, the first with a cut-through chilli pepper, and the second with a jar of Marmite.

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

Well you just print them I guess. Do you really think they actually contain Bacon? After all there are lots of adverts on't telly for a company called the Vegetarian Butcher. Its all down to flavanoids, I'm told. Brian

[nightjar]

Read the pack carefully. If it says 'flavoured', then it must contain bacon. If it says 'flavour' no bacon need be involved.

[alan_m]

They use the term "seasoning" which contains a couple of "flavourings" :)

NGREDIENTS

Potatoes, Sunflower Oil (24%), Rapeseed Oil, Smoky Bacon Seasoning. Smoky Bacon Seasoning contains: Dried Milk Lactose, Salt, Sugar, Flavouring, Hydrolysed Soya Protein, Acids (Citric Acid, Malic Acid), Smoke Flavouring, Colours (Paprika Extract, Sulphite Ammonia Caramel).

[SH]

Bisto "Beef" Instant gravy granules now sports a vegetarian green V logo now.....

[Martin Brown]

Potato crisps cooked in a vegetable oil and the taste has never been near a pig. It is probably Unilever synthetic favour number NNNNNN.

That it so happens tastes to some people a bit like Smokey Bacon. The essence of smoke might possibly be real but the "bacon" certainly isn't.

They could just as easily do Aardvark and Hedgehog flavour ones.

[Tim Streater]

It would be suitable for them to eat even if it did contain meat.

[nightjar]

Hedgehog flavour crisps have been made. They were the subject of a case raised by the Office of Fair Trading. Originally they had been branded Hedgehog *flavoured* crisps. As they contained no hedgehog, that was classed as misleading advertising and the name had to be changed to Hedgehog flavour crisps.

[gareth evans]

Sorry but that reminds me of the joke ...

What is a 6 letter word that begins with N and ends with N and means constipation?

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

Martin Brown wrote on 13/12/2021 :

I thought they had tried that? How would anyone know how authentic the flavour was?

[SH]

There are recipes out there for hedgehog based meals such as on

[charles]

Folklore says gypsies would - they apparenty eat roast hedgehog.

[SH]

And this:

So the smoked bacon crisps, the beef and horseradish and the pulled pork crisps are actually labelled as vegan on the back with a green V.

I can confirm this as some came on the tesco home delivery tonight... :-)