I confess: I have my hand up a bit! When I see ‘vegan’ on a label, I think: ‘dairy free,’ do you? Not that I would necessarily eat it because I am super-sensitive to grains and dairy myself so I rarely eat processed or packaged food anyway, but, if I was trying to avoid dairy because it gives me migraine or makes me sick, I might have been tempted to think it was safe for me. If it was an IgE classical allergy, that would be really dangerous and could even be fatal.
And I wouldn’t be alone in this assumption that vegan equals dairy free, either. See Michelle’s blog about it here:
If it is vegan, is it safe for those with allergies to milk or eggs?
Where she discusses the issue and references Alex’s great post on it too here:
CTSI call for ‘vegan’ definition — but what about ‘free from’?
As Michelle explains:
CTSI) has just issued a report….which makes it quite clear that being labelled vegan does not mean that a food is safe for those with allergies to milk or eggs. They found that over 30% of foods labelled ‘vegan’ had traces of milk or egg.
Michelle Berriedale-Johnson
…not only may 30% of those foods be contaminated, but three quarters of consumers are not aware that they might be. Fine if only your conscience is at risk – totally not fine if it is your life.
Lesson learned there, eh?