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Post by littlegirlbunny on Mar 21, 2007 13:11:27 GMT
Anyone having problems with Redwoods and other chilled vegan foods?
I don't mean ethically - they obviously do a wonderful job at producing tasty vegan meat alternatives...i mean in the quality of their products??
I keep finding their stuff going off. More than one packet of 'beef slices' has blown up well before the use by date. I opened a packet of sausages yesterday and this morning they already had white mould all over them.
I'm thinking it is more a supply chain thing rather than redwoods themselves - along the lines of 'oh its not meat so we don't need to worry about keeping it cold' attitude. It may not kill me as readily if it is off, but I would still like my food to taste nice.
I have had a similar thing with tofu several times over the last 6 months...from the chinese supermarket, unicorn and the eighth day. Also questionable tasting soya milk from coffee outlets.
Anyone had similar experiences?
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Post by veganbikerboy on Mar 21, 2007 13:19:22 GMT
yes, i had some fluffy sausages last week they were well in date so considered eating them anyway ;D Edit: do you think the suppliers are 'slack' because there are not the risks associated with poor storage of meat/dairy products?? just a thought???
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Post by littlegirlbunny on Mar 21, 2007 13:28:59 GMT
Edit: do you think the suppliers are 'slack' because there are not the risks associated with poor storage of meat/dairy products?? just a thought??? Yeah, it is very likely. It's a shame for companies like Redwoods (assuming it is the suppliers and not them themselves) because little things like that can make huge damage to reputations of small companies. Guess hygiene and storage are so much easier to monitor at the manufacturing plant than at every small supplier throughout the UK. The suppliers will always get away with it, because if there are problems with the products, it inevitably ends up back with the manufacturer one way or another.
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Post by Pob on Mar 21, 2007 13:44:28 GMT
I've had sausages gone off before I got round to opening them before and they were well in date. I shove em in the freezer now and use them from there.
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Post by luap on Mar 21, 2007 15:30:59 GMT
the best thing to do is send it back to redwoods with the date and where you bought the stuff so they can investigate what the problem is, if its with them or the company's they supplied
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Post by veggiesosage on Mar 21, 2007 16:21:48 GMT
I've had a couple of issues with them. Had the aforementioned fluffy sossies a few months back and had a rather nasty black lump in some mozzarella style cheezley just recently. I initially thought it might have been a punctured packet but there was no sign. I think I'll keep more of an eye on things and make a point of taking stuff back or posting it back to RW. Trouble is, I buy their stuff from a number of places and by the time I get round to using it I've usually forgotton where i got it from
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Post by fezzarooooo on Mar 21, 2007 22:18:20 GMT
I had a packet of swollen sausages about 2mths ago.
I've stopped buying chilled food from a certain local health food store after finding mold in their soy yogurts and stuff that was sitting in their own fridge! I did notice two boxs of bean salads sitting out one day waiting to be put in the fridge with the staff sodding about doing less essential jobs.
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Post by luap on Mar 22, 2007 9:37:30 GMT
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Post by littlegirlbunny on Mar 22, 2007 10:36:50 GMT
Actually, the last lot I bought was in bulk from Lembas. Think I may just email a link to this thread to Redwoods and see what they say? Anyone against this idea?
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Post by veggiesosage on Mar 22, 2007 19:39:45 GMT
I've got to say I'm not that happy with that idea. They might take exception to us providing a place to slag them off. The best idea is to let them know about individual incidents. Obviously sharing info is cool but sending them a link could give them the idea that we're some kind of vegan 'Watchdog' or something.
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Post by littlegirlbunny on Mar 23, 2007 11:37:22 GMT
I've got to say I'm not that happy with that idea. They might take exception to us providing a place to slag them off. The best idea is to let them know about individual incidents. Obviously sharing info is cool but sending them a link could give them the idea that we're some kind of vegan 'Watchdog' or something. That's an intresting point, although, I think maybe a little cautious The thread hasn't anywhere slagged redwoods off, in fact, I think it is very unlikely that any of this is their fault, and it is likely to be a supply chain issue, as already discussed. I presonally don't think that any of the posts would even slightly come across like a vegan 'watchdog'. Forum use on the net is widespread, and products are often being discussed. Additionally, I stand by what I say on the first post - that Redwoods do a wonderful job at producing tasty vegan meat alternatives. You say that individual incidents should be reported. But the fact is - they never are. How many people who contributed to this thread have actually made a complaint to either Redwoods or the supplier? I personally think Redwoods would be grateful to know the extent of the problem, as there is obviously an issue here (and, to repeat, even though it is likely to be the fault of the supply chain, not the manufacturing of the product). The occasional complaint from people who actually manage to get their ass in gear and mention it is unlikely to be truely representative of the issue. A naturally evolved discussion (in contrast to say, a thread started on the pretence of 'let's all complain to Redwoods') gives a much clearer indication of people's experiences with the company. To be honest, if Redwoods 'took exception' to people commenting on their products (both good and bad, as has happened here) they would be likely setting themselves up for a fall. A company which treated customer feedback in such a negative way would risk overlooking potentially serious issues which may have much deeper and long term effects on their profitability. Customer feedback is vital to a company seriously commited to quality, ethics and maintaining it's customer base. On the other hand, I obviously would not dream of sending them a link to this thread if you are still against it, because I would respect your views on the issue, and your right as a contributor of the thread to decide who sees it (as far as the lack of confidentiality on a public forum allows) Anyone else on the forum have anything to say one way or another?
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Post by veganbikerboy on Mar 23, 2007 12:27:00 GMT
interesting point, from both sides. I guess, even though nobody has slagged redwoods off, a direct link to this thread maybe considered by some a little misleading / misrepresentative of the forum. I suggest a comprimise may be best (ever the diplomat ) rather than pasting a link to the thread, as it is in a public place on the forum, you refer or make reference to it. People from Redwoods would be easily be able to reference it then if requierd?? just a thought
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Post by luap on Mar 23, 2007 14:50:31 GMT
good idea vbb ;D
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Post by veganbikerboy on Mar 23, 2007 19:42:22 GMT
why the shocked face you cheeky f@[k£r ;D
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Post by littlegirlbunny on Mar 26, 2007 13:46:47 GMT
Sounds good to me.... veggiesosage, what do you think? I won't mail them until I get an ok from you first
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Post by littlegirlbunny on Mar 26, 2007 15:54:26 GMT
Ok, too late i'm afraid! I got a packet of unopened sausages out the fridge this afternoon and they had white mould spots on them. They are not due to be out of date until the 11 April, so decided to phone Redwoods and talk to them about the issue. They were brilliant actually, and grateful for the feedback. They are going to look into the problem....i'll let you know what they say
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Post by veggiesosage on Mar 27, 2007 22:49:50 GMT
Too late or not I'm cool with it. Sorry, should have made clear was only an opinion not a mod ;D
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Post by redwood on Apr 2, 2007 8:52:39 GMT
Hi all
Thanks Joanne for pointing me to this forum and the comments about the ‘furry’ Redwood products. We take this matter very seriously and are looking at ways we can put measures in place to stop this from happening in the future. As you all know we do not use artificial preservatives in the product, it is completely natural, so it just takes a tiny hole in the pack and the product will start to deteriorate. I think your comments are accurate when you say that these products are not treated with the respect they deserve throughout the supply chain and so we are looking at increasing the strength of the film that we use. We try to be as environmentally conscious as possible and limit any over packing but in light of your comments we feel we should take this extra precaution to limit the damage within the supply chain. If any of you have any more products that go mouldy please return them to us and we will be only too happy to reimburse you directly.
Thanks again.
Caroline Marketing Manager
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Post by fezzarooooo on Apr 2, 2007 9:08:34 GMT
Aaww bless thank you Caroline ;D *waves at lovely redwoods crew*
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Post by veggiesosage on Apr 2, 2007 10:17:32 GMT
Caroline, I'd just like to point out that we moderators have absolutely no principles whatsover and can be easily bought with lashings of free snacks ;D
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