Vegetarian Journal's Foodservice Update
Healthy Tips and Recipes for Institutions
Volume VII, Number 2 Spring 1999
FOODSERVICE HOTLINE
Question: My vegan customers (I run a college dining hall) are very
suspicious of any prepared items (such as cakes made from mixes and bottled
salad dressings). I am very conscientious and my feelings are hurt. Why do
they want to see the labels on everything?
Answer: Understand that your vegan customers have made a commitment
to delete animal products from their food and may not understand that you
are very concerned about offering them acceptable items. Many prepared (read:
processed) items have hidden ingredients that don’t leap out as animal
products and one has to be very diligent. What comes to mind is a new product
I saw at a recent food show. It was a soft serve fruit whip, being advertised
as "dairy-free, fruit only." I thought, perfect, a great item to use in our
soft-serve machine for vegans and for customers avoiding milk. The salesperson
assured me that there was "only fruit, no sugar and no milk" in the product.
Upon reading the label, I discovered that the product had both sodium caseinate
(a dairy derivative) and fructose (sugar).
Hidden ingredients are not just a vegetarian issue. Salt, caffeine and
preservatives are ingredients that many people try to avoid, but can be buried
on the label. Just the other day I picked up a bottle of salad dressing claiming
to be fat-free (on the front of the bottle), but when I read the nutritional
information, each serving offered several grams of fat! Labeling language
can be very tricky for everyone.
Since your vegan customers are in tune with the ingredients they do not wish
to eat, they may feel that they are more used to being "label-detectives"
than you. Communicate (either through a newsletter or in meetings) with them
that you are up on your vegan terminology (for example, explain that your
vegan cheese does not contain "enzymes" or "rennet" and that the salad dressing
has no "casein" or "lactose"). Let them know what brands of vegan products
you use, and even let them know your philosophy on cooking with honey or
refined cane sugar (since some vegans exclude these). Remember that knowledge
is power! Empower your vegan customers with food information and they’ll
love you and have more trust.
To show your true interest in the veggie lifestyle, you might do what several
colleges are doing – form a vegetarian focus group that brings interested
students, faculty and staff (food service and others) together. Activities
could range from asking for suggestions and having discussions, to taste
testing or field trips (one college foodservice director took the group to
a local vegetarian restaurant to try out some menu items), or even add World
Vegetarian Day to your list of days for special menus.
To be sure that every one is speaking the same language, you may want to
provide some written material. Then you and your students have the same
"vocabulary" when you are talking. The Vegetarian Resource Group has an
informational booklet titled "Vegetarianism in a Nutshell," which outlines
vegan diets and lifestyles. You can obtain this by sending a self-addressed
stamped envelope and note to VRG, PO Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203.
Another short and simple handout is published by the Vegetarian Nutrition
Practice Group of The American Dietetic Association, entitled "Making the
Change to a Vegetarian Diet." This brochure gives some hints on meal planning
and healthy eating. It can be obtained by contacting Vegetarian Nutrition
DPG, c/o Carol Coughlin, RD, 191 Baldwin Street, Leicester, MA 01524.
Got a foodservice question? Visit our website at
http://vrg.org/fsupdate/fsbb.htm
and query away!
Excerpts from the Spring 1999
Issue:
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The Vegetarian Resource Group
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(410) 366-8343 Email: [email protected]
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