Oat-ly Coffee Frozen Dessert photo from Oatly

We noticed that Oat-ly frozen dessert was labeled 100% vegan, but also was labeled OUD, which is a kosher certification that would indicate dairy.

We found that Kashrut.com quoted the Orthodox Union and said:

The Oat-ly Frozen Dessert are labeled OUD, but in fact, its true status, at the present time, is DE (Dairy Equipment).

What does DE mean? A DE product does not contain actual dairy ingredients, but it is manufactured with heat on dairy equipment. DE items may be eaten after meat, but not with meat at the same time…. Please note that it is possible that the manufacturer will

reformulate this product and add a true dairy ingredient. You will not be able to know this, since the OUD kosher symbol will remain the same.

For more information, see https://www.kashrut.com/Alerts/?alert=A7859

The above is from a kosher point of view. Vegans of course wouldn’t eat their vegan frozen dessert after consuming meat. One of our members described kosher and vegan as two parallel highways, where both may be similar and sometimes intersect, but they are different roads with different purposes. We also noticed that the Oatly package had a vegan certification. This certifier apparently has a different view on the shared equipment than the Orthodox Union. This can also apply to vegans and certifiers making their decisions on health, animal rights, animal welfare, environment, or their religion. Use your own judgment about what is important to you. If it matters to you, investigate how the certifiers are making their decisions in labeling.

The contents of this posting, our website and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal and Vegan Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.