It’s really been a whirlwind of activity over here while we continue to get to the bottom of what’s really in a bottle of V8. I’d like to give you a quick rundown of what happened since I published my Campbell’s V8 Juice post on Tuesday, so that you have the complete picture and know what to do from here on out to hold Campbell’s accountable for their lack of transparency and the huge mistakes they are making that have confused many of us.
On the morning of August 5th, 2014, I was alerted that a petition was launched on Change.org to remove animal products from V8 juice, as they had publicly admitted to a vegan blogger on Twitter that the natural flavors in their products may contain meat or dairy:
I was alarmed to find out that V8 “100% Vegetable Juice” could contain something other than vegetables. Not sure if it was true, I asked one of my team members to contact Campbell’s to double check and ask them to verify this information. We used the chat function on their website, so that we’d have a written record, but we also called them. As you can see, at around 11:30 a.m. EST, August 5th, Campbell’s confirmed that the information given on Twitter was true:
———: Hi there. I read that you recently Tweeted that the “natural flavors” in V-8 Juice may contain “meat/seafood/poultry/dairy”. Is that true?
**Welcome to Campbell’s Chat! An agent will be with you shortly.
Thank you for holding, you are speaking with Kelly.
Kelly: Thank you for taking the time to contact Campbell today ———. I will be happy to help.
Kelly: That is a great question! Yes this is true.
———: Are there any more ingredients that may contain animal parts?
———: Can you clarify if it is meat or dairy?
Kelly: The term “flavoring” refers to the oils or extracts that are obtained from spices and herbs. Natural flavoring may also include onion or garlic derivatives, as well as flavor derived from fruits, vegetables and their juices, or edible parts of plants. Other sources may include meat, seafood, poultry or dairy products, whose significant function in the food is flavoring rather than nutrition.
Kelly: I cannot clarify, However I can tell you if there was dairy in the Natural Flavoring, It would be listed in parenthesis after Natural Flavoring, because dairy is a top 8 allergen.
Campbell’s went on to say the natural flavors are “proprietary” and may contain meat:
———: Okay, so it would be from either meat, poultry, or seafood?
Kelly: Correct. It can be.
———: Are you saying that you don’t know if it does?
Kelly: I’m not saying that. It can be derived from Meat, Seafood, Poultry or Dairy.
Kelly: It is a proprietary recipe.
———: So, you can’t disclose which it is made from?
Kelly: That is correct. However, as I stated, if there was an allergen, That would have to be listed after the Natural Flavoring.
Campbell’s responds after consumers become outraged…
I also couldn’t find any mention of the fact that V8 “100% Vegetable Juice” may contain animal products on their website or their labels. I know that there are many vegans and vegetarians that have been consuming V8 juice for years without realizing that it could contain meat-derived flavorings, and I had to share this information. Within minutes of publishing my blog post on this issue, many of you were very upset, commented on V8’s Facebook page and signed the petition on Change.org, demanding that Campbell’s remove animal products from V8. As reported in Politico, after I shared the petition, it “zoomed from less than 200 signatures to nearly 6,000 in just a few hours” (and it now has over 11,000 signatures). This surely got Campbell’s attention and they made an attempt to respond, by leaving a short comment on my website:
“Hi there, It’s Anna here from Campbell Soup. We saw this post and wanted to set the record straight. V8 100% Vegetable Juice IS vegetarian and uses natural flavorings derived from plants and vegetables. Also, our Tomato Soup is vegetarian. Our care team got this information wrong on Twitter. We apologize for any confusion”.
This comment brought up more questions than it answered.
Just a few short hours ago they told us that V8 may contain meat, but now it is all plant/vegetable derived? Your customer service got it “wrong on Twitter”, although they confirmed this was “true” this morning via their website and on the phone? Why are your customer service agents giving inaccurate information to your customers? What other product questions are getting answered incorrectly?
If V8 is vegetarian, why isn’t it vegan?
Just because it is vegetarian, does not mean that it doesn’t contain any animal products. Vegan foods shouldn’t contain any meat or animal bi-products, including dairy, eggs, and gelatin – so what does V8 contain that prohibits it from being vegan?
According to Karen C. Duester, MS, RD, the editor of FoodLabels.com: “Neither FDA nor FTC has any labeling regulations for vegetarian or vegan statements, other than being “truthful and not misleading.” A clarifying “contains honey” statement near the “vegan” call-out would help to ensure that the manufacturer is making truthful and not misleading statements while giving consumers the information they need to make informed decisions”.
We are looking for the truth, and it really shouldn’t be that hard.
Even if you are not a vegan, can you really trust a company that gives conflicting information about their ingredients to their customers? For a company that has spent nearly ONE MILLION DOLLARS to fight transparency in food ingredient labeling, you’d think they would have spent that money in a positive way, possibly by creating better products and training their employees so that customers could get accurate and honest information. Mary Tully recently updated her petition, which sums up how Campbell’s actions are untrustworthy:
“How does a food company’s customer care team (they make the food, they don’t just sell it like a supermarket) not know something so basic as whether or not some of its most popular products have animal ingredients?… If their own staff doesn’t know what’s in these products, how do they expect consumers to trust them?… Trust has been lost. Campbell really screwed up. I don’t know why we are expected to trust them now”.
Yesterday, I responded to Campbell’s by email, this is what I wrote:
“I am still confused, just this morning, I received a chat response on your website from “Kelly” indicating that your natural flavorings could have animal products and the statements on Twitter were true. Are you going to issue a formal response to this matter? What EXACTLY are “natural flavorings derived from plants and vegetables”? What process(es) are used to “derive” these flavorings? You say the V8 and Tomato Soup are vegetarian, but you don’t mention if they are vegan, are they? I’d like to share your response with my readers.”
Then, I received this response from Campbell’s:
“To clarify, both V8 100% Vegetable Juice and Campbell’s Condensed Tomato Soup are suitable for vegetarians. The information provided by our care team wasn’t accurate and we’ve updated the way we respond to these enquiries. The flavoring in V8 100% Vegetable Juice product is a blend of herb and citrus oils and in Tomato Soup it’s a blend of herb oils. Both these blends help give the products their unique tastes. We don’t currently market any of our products as vegan.”
Our Path Forward
I responded back to Campbell’s and asked them to provide a complete list of all of their products that may contain animal products hidden within their flavors. We’ve also asked them to explain why V8 is not vegan. If it’s not, we want to know what animal products or byproducts are in V8 juice that prevent it from being vegan. Again, you’d think that a product that says 100% vegetable juice, should just be made from vegetables, right?
Please let Campbell’s know that this lack of transparency is unacceptable. Hold them accountable and ask them to provide clear labeling for vegetarian and vegan products and to provide the public with a complete list of products that may contain animal-derived ingredients. If you haven’t already, go to Campbell’s Soup Facebook page here or Twitter page here and leave a comment.
Feel Free To Call Campbell’s Customer Service Line: 1-800-257-8443
I will update you all here on the blog on any further developments. Make sure you are subscribed to get our email updates, so you don’t miss it.
Xo,
Vani
P.S. I have an amazing homemade recipe for V8 here, check it out.
Hi there, back-peddle. Why don’t you just leave this company alone and admit your mistake and move on? Try to do some good.
It wasn’t my mistake Cahill. We deserve the right to know ACCURATE information about what’s in our food when we inquire. Campbell’s told everyone – not just me, publicly there were animal products in V8 and Tomato Soup and now they are saying it’s vegetarian but not vegan? – if they can’t even give accurate information, how are we suppose to know what we are eating? They still need to be held accountable for their actions and give us accurate information. We still don’t know! And why did this company spend almost a million dollars to prevent GMO labeling? It doesn’t sound like this company wants to be transparent with us.
Can you please site where you got the info that Campbell’s spent almost $1M on GMO labeling prevention? Thanks!
Combined total from both CA and WA state campaigns equal almost a million dollars. See links below:
http://www.pdc.wa.gov/MvcViewReports/Committee/initiative_committees?year=2013&form=ALL
http://cal-access.ss.ca.gov/Campaign/Committees/Detail.aspx?id=1344135&session=2011&view=received
Cahill- Food Babe doesn’t make mistakes. Instead she creates doors that open conversations so that we can find out the truth about what we are eating. You should be ashamed for asking her such a question!
You go food babe !
Being transparent would require honesty and it’s obviously not the food industry’s major quality. The craziest part here is how something as simple as telling people the ingredients of a soup becomes equivalent to revealing the ingredients of a bomb.
Like you say, we deserve accurate information regarding what we eat; and the fact that we can’t even get that is disturbing. I, as a consumer, feel insulted. Are we just a bunch of idiots who would eat whatever crap those people want to give us ? Let’s show them WE make the decisions here, and WE decide that their behavior is WRONG.
I’m done! I don’t trust them now. None of us need to “give them a break” or “leave them alone”
They’re a big company and they screwed up so they’ll make up whatever from the other shoppers who don’t care what they eat!
Should I trust Progresso lentil soup listed ingredients as no animal parts listed?
Why would anyone drink V8 juice in the first place if they care about their body. You make everything so that you know what’s in it. I won’t drink it because of the salt. And since it is extremely easy to make a vegan version that you can trust, why not make your own and stay away from Campbell’s. Same goes for the soup. I really don’t care what garbage they add, as a vegan I wouldn’t buy it and as a human I wouldn’t touch it either. It’s just plain NOT HEALTHY – one serving has a whopping 480 grams of salt and 8 grams of sugar. And as a vegan, you should not be eating SUGAR! That’s right on the label – you can read that it isn’t vegan! Right on the label!! That is two teaspoons in an 8 once glass! I’m sorry, if a vegan can’t tell that V8 juice is not vegan, they have a problem. My standard is, if I can’t tell from the label whether its vegan or not, I’m not eating it. This is a great recipe and I add some vegan worcestershire for a kick https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAv69BKiXQM Its raw so all the nutrition is there! Give it a try – get off Campbell’s. Stick with fresh ingredients.
A reason to oppose GMO is the additional R&D effort and relabeling needed to comply with these new regulations. The company does not need to supply this information under current law. Therefore, they will work to continue their product formulation and thus profit margin on these types of products. They say… we want to leave well enough alone… and to comply with new regulations will cost much more that lobbying against the change.
admit what mistake?
What mistake exactly? I’m confused by your comment, sorry!
No mistake at all !!! Stop and think about the ppl who have serious allergies to sea food and dairy.
Believe me you do not want to forget the epi-pen if seafood is present or deal with the dairy fall out for many with Chron’s or IBS. Bellieve me this is a far more serious issue for many of us than you cleary have any concept of !
Cahill, Food Babe IS doing good, that is her whole mission, if you haven’t noticed. I believe it is you who has made the mistake!
Thanks Vani, for your mission, you are an angel!
While I appreciate what you’re doing in general, I find this whole situation laughable. I have never heard Campbell’s make a claim towards vegan or vegetarian in their advertising. Are we so naive to believe that if something is processed, and in a can on a grocery store shelf [with a shelf life of over a year] that there isn’t going to be undesirables in it? Honestly. Campbell’s is not sold at the health food store for a reason.
LOL – great response, Mandi, especially that last line!
you’re argument is just stupid…..so just because it’s not being advertised as vegan or vegetarian (so what do you call label that says “100% Vegetable Juice”? smh) we as consumer don’t have a right to know what we’re eating? Keep feeding your daughter then whatever you want without any care as to what you give her….you should be real proud!
I’m sorry but stating on a label 100 percent Vegetable juice when it is NOT is LYING.
If they simply put the truth most of us would not be here.
🙂
I agree Mandi. I feel like I wasted my time reading this one.
I don’t see any mistakes, this company is just lying to the consumers like all the others. Don’t be surprised if we find out in the future that they are selling GMO’s as well or why would they spend that much money fighting against GMO labels?
Well, it is not so easy to find non GMO corn and soy bean these days. And to find it in large quantities and test to confirm it is non GMO would be quite costly! I agree, we can assume that if either of these two are ingredients, they are most likely GMO.
Cahill you are only here to cause problems I can see right through you a paid troll . Go troll some other website and quit wasting everyone’s time with your post
Cahill, you gettin paid? Or just plain ignorant? Not to be rude, but come on. Any company spending millions of dollars to keep us in the dark on their ingredients shouldn’t be left alone. Wake up dude.
? – 100% veggies = vegan ?
Leave them alone? Are you joking? You must work for them! There is an all out – world wide demand from consumers to KNOW what is in all products we purchase for use in or on our bodies. I for one do not want to be LIED to. Boycott these products made by these conglomerates for as long as it takes to ‘fix’ these deliberate & deceitful practices. I have a Facebook page called ‘Healthy Food BC’. You will find that I relentlessly post articles, others post, news & alerts about any & everything to do with ‘abnormalities’ in the food industry! Yes, it is a passion….. I have been in it for 40 + years. That is from ranching, farming, gardening and professionally cooking/catering. I also worked for the corporate offices of several of the huge food chains overseas & in Canada. Pride & responsibility for truly good food has long evaporated in relative proportion to the ‘advent’ of GMO’s. I studied nutrition at AG college way back when it mattered before greed & gluttony got in the way. Every one…… Particularly mothers & grandmothers…… Do you want your children & grandchildren to live healthy lives? If not……. Then heed the words of the one I am replying to…..and ‘just leave this company alone and move on’. I for one…..shall not. Just getting started. That is the ‘good’ I am going to continue doing……!
Cahill, do you even understand what food babe is all about?Transparency about what is in our food?
Cahill, she’s not wrong in enlightening people about Campbell’s. First of all, they are about to be sued for deceptive labeling. The only problem I have is that vegans have been drinking this crap for years. It is so bad for you between the salt and the sugar (high fructose corn syrup) that NO ONE should be drinking it. And vegans, above all, should no better. Vegans are not supposed to eat sugar in the first place, unless its organic. This should have been a no-no for vegans since the beginning. Their soups are the same thing. Just plain bad! So I applaud her for letting people know. You should be grateful too. If she saves one person from this product, then what she is doing is worth it.
I’m thanking FOOD BABE for informing us of these issues. I’m glad there is someone out there doing this work. WE ARE WHAT WE EAT!!! So, many people eat crap, junk, garbage and therefore have so many health issues when they are older. We need to be “aware” of what goes in our bodies ( our temple so to speak). We will fair better and live longer and be a lot more healthy if we eat “right”…
THANKS FOOD BABE…
As I wrote on this post several days ago my husband used to like Gatorade. Especially when he would go out and be in the sun in Florida mowing the grass and doing his yard work. He would gulp down Gatorade. One day I opened it up for him to give him a glass and there was a roach bug (dead) just laying in the bottom of the jar YUCK! He called the company and they offered us a year’s supply of GATORADE! No thank you, he never drank that again. SO, moral of the story is we need to know what’s in our food as well as our drink.
As a person who can’t have dairy, it would be important for me to know about dairy specifically. As far as V8 goes, I could never stomach it to begin with! As time goes on, I’m finding if I buy whole foods, I have a better idea of what I’m eating! Yikes!
It is an easy solution not to eat any Campbell products since I would not trust anything they put into their products. I have been drinking Knudson and Lakewood veggie juice which is organic for years. Not only is Campbell’s V-8 suspect, but non of the vegetables are organic, so that means there are full of pesticides and the V-8 that is packed in cans has bisponel (sp?) lining the can. The other products are in glass jars.
Sandy
Good point Sandy !
It is an easy solution not to eat any Campbell products since I would not trust anything they put into their products. I have been drinking Knudson and Lakewood veggie juice which is organic for years. Not only is Campbell’s V-8 suspect, but non of the vegetables are organic, so that means there are full of pesticides and the V-8 that is packed in cans has bisponel (sp?) lining the can. The other products are in glass jars.
Sandy
Yes!!! This is a good solution, but sharing this information also helps educate people who might still be consuming Campbell’s.
great information sandy! thank you
Oh my goodness! Seriously? If anyone isn’t already aware these junk food companies should ALWAYS be avoided regardless of what they admit to or promise to change. Kraft, General Mills, Coke, etc etc (it’s been so long since I bought any of them I’ve forgotten their nasty names) … they all are using GMO, ARTIFICIAL COLORS and FLAVORS, MSG, Mistreated Animals, etc etc etc etc. The companies should not just be questioned they should be ABANDONED Period. There’s your health advice.
Well said. 1000% agree!
I agree, Angela. Avoid at all cost.
However, Campbell’s (along with all food companies) ought to be required to disclose what’s actually in their products.
You are doing wonders for the food industry. It’s so sad that we are having to back track to what “real” food should be, not something from a lab. I appreciate your efforts in holding these major companies accountable for what they claim and advertise. So many of us are fortunate to have the education and knowledge about seeing through those tricky words like “natural”, it’s a hoax that many people do not understand. We shouldn’t have to fight so hard to get toxin-free food, but you are a pioneer for us all.
Thank you for this. I have, however, not been able to eat Campbell’s products for years, because I am gluten intolerant, and their “soup” isn’t gluten free. With the noodle soups, this is understandable, but the cream soups, and even the tomato soup, I’ve never understood it. So I have just chosen to stay away from their products altogether. I’m so proud of you for finding out what’s in their products! We deserve to know what’s in our food 🙂
It’s amazing that there is no contact form on their website. I have avoided Campbell’s soup for years because of the MSG their soups contain. MSG is considered a “natural” flavoring.
MSG is a neurotoxin; we stopped using Progresso clam sauce for the same reason; and mine is much better with real ingredients…
You can contact Campbell through its facebook page.
This is outrageous ! Those people don’t respect us as consumers, they don’t respect the products they are processing, they don’t respect anything! I refuse to pay for something that has so much dishonesty and uses harmful ingredients.
We live in a world where we are constantly doubting about what we eat and that is just terribly sad.
Thank you Vani for speaking out about how the food industry uses a basic need humans have (eating) to make profit. I love and I support what you’re doing on this blog.
Welcome to the industrialized food supply. Consumers need to demand to know what’s in their food, and exactly how it is processed.
I couldn’t agree with you more Jessica. It’s a sad reality.
Thanks for this great effort to make Campbell’s declare its contents accurately.
You have prompted me to call Campbell’s again to request ZERO SALT soups.
We’ll see what happens! All best, Dr. Stead
Wow! Keep up the great work! Boo Campbell’s! Trust is gone. How can “100% Vegetable Juice” not be vegan??
Who wants to pay for another label?
Hi Food Babe, I do enjoy your blog and believe is important. However, we must be truthful when making allegations.Kelly from Campbell told you that v8 and the tomato soup MAY have meat, as a conclusion from the fact that some natural flavorings may come from animal products. Which by the way, you provided.
To your summation, campbell clarified. However the clarification is not good enough- on this issue, as well the GMO issue with Dr.Grysson, which he clarified beautifully, seems to me a little inflammatory.
Vivian – That’s the problem, Kelly said it may have meat, and then Campbell’s came back and said it was vegetarian. A company has a responsibility to give us accurate ingredients and that’s why I’m asking them to provide more information regarding this issue.
Campbell’s labels has not been trusted for years in peanut allergy circles. They have had cross contamination issues before even after top 8 labeling was enforced. We stopped eating them years ago for the safety of my daughter.
Every bit just as bad is that Campbell’s soup contains the dreaded MSG and evidently they see no reason to change.
Hi Vani; When do you think food companies will stop using the term “natural flavoring” and start disclosing exactly what is in their products? It’s kind of a no brainer to do this….It makes me sad that many people are fooled by this vague term that means absolutely nothing !
We stopped buying anything in cans years ago. Campbells equals cans. Not only that but the chicken used in their soups is from disgusting sources, so we’ve heard. It’s a dead product by the time you get it anyway. There’s little nutritional value. 🙁
Ok, so I will claim dumb here: what is the difference between vegetarian diets and vegan diets. Can you list some examples of what a vegetarian eats that a vegan doesn’t? Thanks for the help!
Vegetarians usually still eat dairy (milk, cheese, etc) and eggs, while Vegans abstain from all animal derived products.
Vegetarians also eat honey, and vegans don’t.
Maybe there is some confusion about the difference between vegan and vegetarian on Campbell’s part. I can’t imagine that any vegan that particular about their diet would drink that dead food.
Campbell’s is a food industry. I can’t imagine that they aren’t on top of all food trends, let alone basic vegetarian/vegan practices. Perhaps, you mean their spokesperson, in particular. Poor guy probably got demoted!
I agree with you. Why would a vegan choose to drink this garbage? Obviously its vegan that don’t really care. Right off the bat, vegans don’t eat sugar unless its organic and it would be specified as such. So why are vegans even discussing it? I have been vegan for years, I read labels and read into labels. If it isn’t certified “vegan”, I’m not eating it. But when the label, like the one on V8 juice is so blatantly out there for you to see that sugar is in it, it should go back on the shelf automatically. If it had organic sugar, it would mention it. There are plenty of recipes for homemade V8 and tomato soup, why would anyone bother. It is high in sugar AND the harmful salt.
ooh thank you! And very scary for families like ours who have food allergies to dairy and seafood to read “it can be derived from Meat, Seafood, Poultry or Dairy” but not on the label.
Thank goodness I don’t buy Campell’s and make my own soups.and don’t drink their V8 juice.. Totally unacceptable customer service. on Campell’s part putting staff in charge of answering clients questions whom they say gave out miss information.
The added seafood I would think should be on the label. People can die from just a tiny amount. No big named food company cares one iota about the healthiness of their product. Pesticides & chemicals in everything.
Maybe they just don’t want to market their stuff as vegan because that’s not how they position themselves in the market place. Even if something doesn’t contain meat or dairy, doesn’t mean they HAVE to call it vegan.
On a separate note, I think it’s ridiculous they have such lazy customer service systems as to where they can’t tell you the specifics of what you are ingesting! I never drank V8 because it never seemed healthy to me anyway. Hopefully you can find out the truth soon, and maybe it’s true they don’t use meat derived oils for these two products. I have no idea but I am glad you always question it!
I think there is meat, seafood, and poultry in the “natural flavoring” but Campbells is throwing a lead foot down on the back pedal! If all of their employees had the same answer the first time, I believe it to be true. They just don’t want a bunch of angry vegetarians and vegans stirring up trouble for them on Social Media.
Your theory is certainly plausible, considering the mass amount of comments I read on their V8 page yesterday – http://facebook.com/V8 and the 12k + signatures on the petition!
The solution to this is very simple. Exercise your freedom of choice and “Don”t buy their products”. Thanks, Vani, for bringing this to everyones attention.
I cant believe you have nothing better to do in August than to complain about V8 juice. Don’t you have anything else to do?
Chris – I saw you picking your nose while typing this comment.
LOL you are cracking me up keep up the good work doll!!!
I didn’t realize how much of a babe “Food Babe” was till I saw that picture . I take my previous comment back. Whats up food Babe 🙂
Are the contents in his nose considered vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, condensed, all natural? 🙂 Keep up the great work!!! I and many of my friends value the work you do!!
Too freaking funny !
I can’t believe you don’t have anything else to do except tell her that she should be doing something else. And I’ll make you a bet that whatever you’re doing is not as interesting as what she’s doing. So why not stop whining and go do something?
I agree with Angela – These companies need to be abandoned. Plain and Simple.
Growing up my dad used to make spaghetti sauce with Prego sauce. We found a skin in it. After sending it to Campbell’s they said it was a rodent skin !!!!!!! They compensated us and sent us coupons for their products lol why would we want Free after knowing that we ate rat skin!!!!!!
Thanks for holding their feet to the fire Vani. I have a hunch about something Campbell’s is probably not wanting to address in this dialog, which would definitely make their products non-vegan. I read years ago that the USDA standards for processed foods (especially tomato products) allows a certain level of “acceptable” insect parts in the product. They allow that because it is impossible to guarantee fruit and vegetables are absolutely 100% free of insects on that scale of production. They also allow a certain level of rat hairs and rat parts – you know the ones that fall into the vats or crawl around on the produce. And that would definitely make it non-vegan! So maybe the “proprietary” animal ingredients they don’t want to elaborate on includes insects and rats! Anything’s possible with big American factory food companies who want to keep their customers in the dark.
Ernie,
I remember hearing about that too!
You may be correct in your opinion.
Why do they even put flavorings? Ever since I saw the 60 minutes report on “natural flavorings” I got so grossed out, I avoid anything with any kind of “flavoring”.
I admittedly don’t read your blog often, but this one intrigued me, mostly because you didn’t know that “natural flavorings” could refer to animal products. What exactly did you think it was? Any product- Campbells or not, that has natural flavorings probably has some kind of animal product in it. Why are you jumping on Campbells specifically?
I don’t personally care if V8 juice contains animal derived flavors but I realize this could be a BIG problem for people with allergies or convictions about eating animal by products. I understand the point about company transparency too….man….am I the only one that feels embarrassed for Campbell’s?? Awkward!
I honestly do not understand why anyone would choose to buy factory made food products of any kind, especially given the reaction of tomatoes in non-BHP free cans, not to mention the unsustainable transport of such products over thousands of miles, that eating non-organic tomatoes is a very bad option even if the nightshade family nutritionally is not a problem for you. Therefore, once the fog of false advertising wears off, and the public wakes up, I predict some of the greatest short-selling opportunities int he history of the stock market in the not to distant future. Make $$ off these demise!
A few people are missing the point here. While some of us may know the truth behind Campbell and wouldn’t think twice about buying it, MANY and I mean MANY Americans still believe in the labels. When you are on the go, you may grab a V8 because it says “100% vegetable juice” and you may think you are doing the body good. But there are a lot of vegans and begetarians out there who consume products like this that contain loads of pesticides and GMOs. Vani is tackling mainstream companies because not everyone is aware and not everyone has access to Whole Foods or Earth Fare, etc. Those stores also carry products I’m not fond of, but we need to attack the mainstream companies to do the most good and awaken the most people first! Great job Vani!
I think this is a great post. Don’t give up and keep fighting.
You are doing an amazing job opening the eyes of tens of thousands of people that never had access to this kind of information.
Going after individual companies is the best thing that we can do to affect CHANGE on an individual level.
Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Food Babe for what you do. There needs to be more people in this world doing what you do. Strive and keep going!
Freedom to make an educated choice. Thank you for all you care and concern. Making this works a better place. Making companies accountable and never too big for their own britches! Take care rough waters. Will try and find an alternative that is organic. But for many this price point is a great way to get nutrients otherwise missed in fast food. Good better best!
I’m sorry — Why does anyone ever eat this stuff to begin with? I stopped eating it long before I started eating organic. The amount of sodium and other crap in these products is enough to make me puke. However, I understand the need to set the record straight — there are a lot of people who drink this crap (I guess), but I would wager that most who are not health conscious rarely read labels in the first place.
Go Vani!.. This type of companies need to be “bombarded” with questions.. Enough is enough… and the worst part is that the FDA that it’s supposed to be after them to clarify the content of the ingredient lists, it’s not doing a thing!.. When I read “natural flavor” on the label, it goes back on the shelf!.. If the item has more than 5 ingredients I don’t buy it! Wish everyone out there would do the same. I keep telling my family and friends the same thing!
Here is great soup company! They even tell you on the label EXACTLY what is in it and the farms where the food was harvested, now that is cool!
http://www.newenglandcountrysoup.com/
Why would anyone consume any Cambell products? It is processed food so it does not surprise me that they do not know what is in their product. Cut out all these processed foods and one can commence the road to health.
Yes, we the people must demand accountability from these big companies whose profit over people come first. I would’t purchase anything from this company. You were nice enough to say “mistakes.” I know they are just down right lies…Thank you Vani for all your persevering to educate others on what they need to do to conquer their own health. If you know your food, you will conquer your health. The difference between food and foreign matter is on the labels, but not even all the foreign food as I know is not on the labels….and it’s making people sick….
OK,
Lets boycott their products for at least (1) year.
This should get their attention.
Lets also forward this info to the main television networks as well as the newspapers .
Boycot Campbells
I don’t ‘boycott’. If a company has a proven record of not being honest and upfront I discontinue buying from the altogether—FOREVER! Why give them a second chance to be deceptive? A business that provides to the public needs to know that dishonesty and dangerous practices will not be tolerated. Some companies thrive off of their well deserved reputations (albeit very few now-a-days)— those that believe they can continue reckless behavior with the public’s health need to be sent to the dustbins of history—-and be replaced by those more deserving.
I have been trying to alert people to the fact that many Campbell’s products contain MSG which is POISON to migraineurs. I contacted the company many times and their response was that I should read the labels. Duh.. how do they think I found it in their foods! Migraineurs unite and boycott Campbell until they remove this ingredient! How many people use Campbell’s soups as an ingredient in a dish that they bring to a social event? No label to read then!
Great Alert!
People with Asthma or C.O.P.D. should avoid MSG too.
It causes the body to produce excess mucus and fluids due to the high based sodium. (Mucus Membrane’s on overdrive)
These fluids impede normal oxygen supply in the lungs like a drowning victim.
The body also protects itself by raising the blood pressure to compensate for the lack of oxygen and overload of mucus.
Get these conditions together: “Tight Throat or Chest” “Can’t Breath” “Itching- Burning Skin” “Headaches” “Profuse Sweating” “Dizzy – Light Headed” “Chronic Bronchitis” ……ect.
Poison!
I’m not buying products from companies that have no idea what is really in their products. This should be a wake up call to ALL food companies, word trickery will not be tolerated any longer. And we are all watching you very closely! Wake up or fall by the wayside, we have proven no company is too big to wrangle the truth out of. And it angers me we are charged more for non chemical based foods, this makes NO sense at ALL! They do less to it and charge more? Scammer’s through and through!
Hi. I would just like to say that I am so proud of your commitment to excellence! You go above and beyond 99.9% of the population. Not much impresses me, besides God (Jesus Christ), some people in the Bible, my mom, Mike Adams-The Health Ranger, Dr. Nicholas Gonzalez, and a few others on this earth. Keep up the amazing work!!! 🙂
We want to know every single ingredient in every single product. Period.
Any secrets in the name of confidentiality of a recipe is an easy cover to hide questionable practices and ingredients.
Rock on Food Babe and Food Babe Army!!!
To Chris – Nothing better to do? Than keeping what we put into our bodies safe? RU serious?
I think they need to label other than the 8 major allergies. A family member is deathly allergic to poultry, seafood and honey….so they are lying to us…granted we don’t really use much other than tomato soup from Campbells. We also have a family friend who’s child is allergic to beef on top of other (main 8) allergins…so labeling accurately could save lives…this is a good article and I am glad I read it. We will not buy Campbells again for safety reason until they label accurately.
It is my experience that “customer care” types often get things wrong because of poor training.
OR possibly is this just an excuse to cover the truth or even disinfo that was used to protect proprietary trade secrets?
bottom line: ingredients (including flavorings) should be disclosed, regardless if “you” elect to purchase their product or not.
Wow this is so sad. Your Tuesday article was published the day after we had bought a case of V8 fruit fusion from Costco lol! I know people are going to say “well people shouldn’t be buying this crap anyway”. Of course not, but not all of us have the time or money to buy and eat organic vegetables. We work and are busy. Sometimes you have to get your nutrients where you can. A lot of us live in places where there isn’t an affordable grocery store that sells even decent produce. A lot of places near where I have lived have had really gross looking fruits and veg that I would never put anywhere near me. A lot of people rely on brands like Campbell’s, and they should at least be truthful. They might not be marketed as vegetarian/vegan friendly, but why the eff is there a possibility of animal products/bi-products in a drink that is advertised as 100% juice??? Obviously it’s NOT 100% juice!! That’s so misleading and makes me question all their products. It’s sad!
Thanks for posting this. I did just call them. What a joke. I told them that this product cannot be 100% vegatable juice if it had meat or meat flavorings in it. The person on the line didn’t seem to grasp this simply concept. He said that the product was sustainable for vegatarians. I hate it when dumb people try to sound more intelligent by throwing out this word sustainable. Of course as you can imagine our conversation got no where. Poor guy. What a horrible job. I hope he learns something. We are living in scary times. Thanks for the work you do.