Iglo is no longer allowed to sell gnocchi in gorgonzola sauce as a veggie product

Consumer advice center Hamburg enforces cease-and-desist declaration due to misleading information

10-Sep-2024
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The Hamburg Consumer Advice Center has successfully issued a warning to Iglo GmbH. The brand manufacturer is no longer allowed to sell its frozen dish "Gnocchi with spinach leaves in a fine Gorgonzola sauce" under the "Veggie Love Meals" brand, as the product is not vegetarian. The Gorgonzola cheese used contains animal rennet, which usually comes from the stomachs of slaughtered calves.

"Consumers must be able to rely on a product with the name 'Veggie' being 100 percent vegetarian. Animal rennet has no place in a vegetarian product!" says Armin Valet from the consumer advice center in Hamburg. Although the manufacturer Iglo admits on the back of the product packaging that the frozen meal is "by definition not vegetarian", it does not correct the misleading term "veggie", which is prominently displayed on the front.

Iglo is reluctant to take action

"Iglo's approach in this case does not reflect well on the brand manufacturer. Iglo only signed the cease-and-desist declaration after a long period of delaying tactics," reports Valet. The Hamburg-based consumer advocates had already sent the warning letter in November 2023. However, the company only relented shortly before the date for the hearing before the Hamburg Regional Court in August of this year.

Nevertheless, the "Gnocchi with spinach leaves in a fine Gorgonzola sauce" will remain in retailers' freezers until May 2025. "To avoid the unnecessary destruction of food, we have granted Iglo a generous transitional period to sell the product," says Valet. Anyone on a vegetarian diet should therefore continue to avoid the ready meal.

Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.

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Topic world AI for food and beverages