According to the Vegetarian Society, from the beginning of February 2013 Walkers Smoky Bacon and Roast Chicken crisps will no longer be suitable for vegetarians as they will contain real meat flavourings.
This is a real shame as they are obviously well aware of their vegetarian customers' needs, after changing the ingredients of their cheese and onion crisps some time ago (to include vegetarian cheese powder). Whether this is simply a publicity stunt planned by their marketing department to cause public outcry, or whether Walkers think this change in ingredients will increase their profits, I will certainly be contacting them to let them know how I feel, and urge you to do the same.
To contact Walkers about this issue, please phone their consumer careline on 0800 274777, email consumer@walkers.co.uk or write to:
Consumer Services Department
To contact Walkers about this issue, please phone their consumer careline on 0800 274777, email consumer@walkers.co.uk or write to:
Consumer Services Department
Walkers Snack Foods
FREEPOST LE4 918
Leicester
LE4 5ZY
FREEPOST LE4 918
Leicester
LE4 5ZY
Thanks for the heads up!
ReplyDeleteI am raging about this!!!! Will need to send them an email. xx
ReplyDeleteThanks for the warning - there will be a flurry of unhappy comments from this household about this, they are amongst our fave flavours.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments...do post on their FB page too!
ReplyDeleteYes, very disappointing. Loved their chicken crisps (not because they taste of chicken!!).
ReplyDeleteTheir mailbox is going to be very full this week :-{
Oh no! What a shame!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the warning!
Crushed up meat-scraps are probably 0.0001% cheaper than a few veggie additives.
ReplyDeleteWay to go Walkers!
Tell 'em what you think to this clever idea:
http://www.facebook.com/walkers
I'm not a vegetarian so bear with me but I've never understood what a vegetarian would want to eat meat-flavoured products? I get the variety of reasons behind choosing to be a vegetarian but can't compute - doesn't eat bacon but eats smokey bacon crisps. It's my tiny mind though...!
ReplyDeleteLol, I know some vegetarians don't like the thought of 'fake meat' flavourings or products and that's fair enough. I actually used to like the taste of some meats though and don't see eating a packet of smoky bacon crisps is any different to eating a Quorn bolognese or a veggie sausage. On the other hand bacon crisps don't actually taste anything like bacon!
DeleteThe thing that gets me really cross about the Walkers issue, is that they have not been transparent with their consumers. I wouldn't check the ingredients on their packets any more as I would assume they're vegetarian, as they always have been.
If you don't eat animals you shouldn't be looking for something that tastes like them.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. So you're telling me that Walkers original smoky bacon crisps actually tasted anything like bacon? Well that's news to me!
ReplyDeleteYes, they don't taste at all like bacon.
ReplyDeleteI'm currently transitioning from eating meat to vegetarian, after eating meat for over 22 years, these type of fake products help, or would have helped should I say. It is disappointing when they have perfectly fine products to begin with, that they are prepared to kill animals for marketing purposes, which is frankly all this is. It wouldn't be so bad if the animal product was 'needed' but it is completely unnecessary.
I hope there sales drop massively, which I suspect they will.
Thanks Katey. I've noticed a lot of discounted Walkers Crisps lately!
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