Health is Wealth Foods -- Why I don't trust 'em

[karthur]

I've read a few stories on here of people's experiences with fake meat that tastes too real. Here's mine...

Health is Wealth makes both vegan "Chicken-Free Nuggets" and real Chicken Nuggets. My girlfriend and I have bought their chicken-free nuggets several times, until one time (you guessed it) we got them and they looked, smelled and tasted a whole lot more real. Even our cats agreed. We figured they had probably just changed the recipe, but I was suspicious so I bought some of their real chicken nuggets to compare. We couldn't tell the difference. I then bought another package of the fake nuggets (same store, same lot number) and again these tasted like the real nuggets. I bought one more package of fake nuggets, from a different store, and those tasted like the usual fake nuggets.

I wrote and called Health is Wealth, telling them this and asking if they had changed their recipe. They said to send in the questionable package and they'd investigate. I did that, and it's now two months later and I've heard nothing more, despite multiple attempts to reach them again.

So I'm pretty convinced that they mistakenly packaged a batch of real chicken nuggets in fake chicken nugget packaging. (I still have that second questionable batch in my freezer if anyone's in the neighborhood and would like to do a taste test.) :)

Has anyone here had success communicating with Health is Wealth? I'm obviously not impressed with their customer service.

Kevin

[Fenguin]

The only fake chicken I've ever had that's able to realistically emulate meat texture is Quorn. And even the cats won't fall for that. Maybe do a blind taste test between the two batches with the cats and see where that gets you.

The company may want to keep it under wraps to avoid any legal entanglements. If that's the case, they deserve to have their deception publicized.

[Feliner]

That's really nasty for those of us that do NOT want any real chicken passing the lip barrier. I worry about this kind of thing from time to time too. I've had the HiW brand before also, but they definitely seemed fake to me. I don't know what you can do, there should be a solution we could buy to dip our fake meats in and make sure they're not tainted by flesh!! Or the companies could stop trying to imitate the appearance of real meat and make it obvious by color or shape.


PS: I'd like to state for the record that my kitties adore several types of fake meat, even tofu sometimes.

[Thalia]

Well I can understand them wanting to keep it under wraps, but they are taking a risk by not doing a recall. What if someone were a allergic to chicken and ate it?

You may want to report this to someone other than just the company. Like the store where you bought it and government agencies. If it happened once it could happen again. Maybe others have complained to, and your complaint would be the last straw.

[wild blackberry]

that is really terrifying. :(

i have been looking forward to trying health is wealth because it is the only kind of chicken alternative in my area that i know of that is vegan. or at least is supposed to be vegan.

now i think i'll pass until further notice. :spew:

[karthur]

Well I can understand them wanting to keep it under wraps, but they are taking a risk by not doing a recall. What if someone were a allergic to chicken and ate it?

You may want to report this to someone other than just the company. Like the store where you bought it and government agencies. If it happened once it could happen again. Maybe others have complained to, and your complaint would be the last straw.

Thanks for the responses. I'll try writing to the store and look around for an address for the FDA or some other appropriate place. I'll post a follow-up when I hear more.

Kevin

[fat kitty]

I am very interested in this, as my boyfriend and I just tried the Chicken-less Nuggets last night. They were way too real-tasting. I didn't know this company also made real chicken nuggets. :worried:

[stonecrest]

i eat their vegan chicken patties sometimes and honestly, i think there's just some paranoia in this thread. but if it alleviates your fears, go ahead with what you're doing :)

[karthur]

I am very interested in this, as my boyfriend and I just tried the Chicken-less Nuggets last night. They were way too real-tasting. I didn't know this company also made real chicken nuggets. :worried:

The two kinds are easily distinguishable just by their look. The fake nuggets are regular oval shapes and flatter. The real ones are pinched at one end, like little drumsticks, and a little less uniformly flat.

There are pictures of the boxes at http://www.healthiswealthfoods.com/
but it's kind of hard to tell from the small size of the images.

I could be mistaken about all this, in which case I'll be very embarrassed, but I don't think I am...

[fat kitty]

The two kinds are easily distinguishable just by their look. The fake nuggets are regular oval shapes and flatter. The real ones are pinched at one end, like little drumsticks, and a little less uniformly flat.
.


ours looked like little drumsticks

the box said vegan

[karthur]

ours looked like little drumsticks

the box said vegan

Wow... it does seem really unlikely that they'd make this mistake more than once (I see you're out west so I'd assume they're from completely different batches -- just out of curiousity could you tell me the lot number? It should be stamped on the plastic bag inside the box.)

I felt at first like I was being paranoid, but still... we bought real and fake and tried them side by side and could not taste any difference. Is that even possible? That'd be an amazing achievement.

If you want to continue this discussion through private messages that's fine with me... I'm new here so I don't want to annoy the regulars if this is all sounding too paranoid. :)

[fat kitty]

Wow... it does seem really unlikely that they'd make this mistake more than once (I see you're out west so I'd assume they're from completely different batches -- just out of curiousity could you tell me the lot number? It should be stamped on the plastic bag inside the box.)

I felt at first like I was being paranoid, but still... we bought real and fake and tried them side by side and could not taste any difference. Is that even possible? That'd be an amazing achievement.

If you want to continue this discussion through private messages that's fine with me... I'm new here so I don't want to annoy the regulars if this is all sounding too paranoid. :)

I can't quite make out some of it. There are two lines. The top has a P75??. The last two digits are difficult to make out. Possibly 69. The second set of numbers is 13077.

[karthur]

I can't quite make out some of it. There are two lines. The top has a P75??. The last two digits are difficult to make out. Possibly 69. The second set of numbers is 13077.

That matches as much as I can make out -- top line has P75... bottom line is 13077.

[wild blackberry]

Just wondering if you've heard anything. I'm really interested in this so if you get a response, please post it or PM me.

[karthur]

Just wondering if you've heard anything. I'm really interested in this so if you get a response, please post it or PM me.

No, no response. I wrote to Whole Foods as well (where I bought them). I'll post here when I hear anything more.

[dreamygenie]

hey!!...i'm in seattle washington....i had recently bought a package of "chicken-free nuggets" myself...when i opened the package they were shaped like drumsticks....and i thought they had changed the recipe as well...so i cooked them up for dinner...when i started eating them...they tasted different...like real chicken...and lo and behold i found a piece of bone in my mouth...i freaked out...and checked the health is wealth website...and saw that the chicken-free nuggets had a different shape than the real chicken...and that i had consumed the real chicken......i e-mailed them and called....the next day i was called back.....apparantly there was a mistake, and real chicken nuggets were mispackaged as chicken free nuggets.....the number on the plastic bag they are contained in is : P7569 and 13077
they said that they are doing a recall in the seattle and portland areas....but i didn't see any posting for that yet....
it happened to 2 other people i know....so please check the number on the bag...you may be getting the real thing....





I've read a few stories on here of people's experiences with fake meat that tastes too real. Here's mine...

Health is Wealth makes both vegan "Chicken-Free Nuggets" and real Chicken Nuggets. My girlfriend and I have bought their chicken-free nuggets several times, until one time (you guessed it) we got them and they looked, smelled and tasted a whole lot more real. Even our cats agreed. We figured they had probably just changed the recipe, but I was suspicious so I bought some of their real chicken nuggets to compare. We couldn't tell the difference. I then bought another package of the fake nuggets (same store, same lot number) and again these tasted like the real nuggets. I bought one more package of fake nuggets, from a different store, and those tasted like the usual fake nuggets.

I wrote and called Health is Wealth, telling them this and asking if they had changed their recipe. They said to send in the questionable package and they'd investigate. I did that, and it's now two months later and I've heard nothing more, despite multiple attempts to reach them again.

So I'm pretty convinced that they mistakenly packaged a batch of real chicken nuggets in fake chicken nugget packaging. (I still have that second questionable batch in my freezer if anyone's in the neighborhood and would like to do a taste test.) :)

Has anyone here had success communicating with Health is Wealth? I'm obviously not impressed with their customer service.

Kevin
[FONT=Arial]

[wild blackberry]

unbelievable. i understand that everyone makes mistakes, but that is too serious. i cannot see myself ever buying from this company. this is horrifying to me, not to mention disgusting.

"I am outraged to have learned about the Chicken Nuggets being mispackaged as Chicken-Free Nuggets in P7569 and 13077. Months ago, I heard about Health is Wealth foods in an online vegetarian community and looked forward to trying them. However, after learning of this mistake, I will never purchase Health is Wealth products. Veganism is important to me and I am not willing to risk compromising it because of a packaging mistake."


i hope this letter isn't unreasonable or hasty, but i just sent it out of anger.

[Michael]

Will be interesting to see what, if anything, they have to say. I filled out the feedback form on their site and sent them a link to this thread.

[karthur]

hey!!...i'm in seattle washington....i had recently bought a package of "chicken-free nuggets" myself...when i opened the package they were shaped like drumsticks....and i thought they had changed the recipe as well...so i cooked them up for dinner...when i started eating them...they tasted different...like real chicken...and lo and behold i found a piece of bone in my mouth...i freaked out...and checked the health is wealth website...and saw that the chicken-free nuggets had a different shape than the real chicken...and that i had consumed the real chicken......i e-mailed them and called....the next day i was called back.....apparantly there was a mistake, and real chicken nuggets were mispackaged as chicken free nuggets.....the number on the plastic bag they are contained in is : P7569 and 13077
they said that they are doing a recall in the seattle and portland areas....but i didn't see any posting for that yet....
it happened to 2 other people i know....so please check the number on the bag...you may be getting the real thing....

[FONT=Arial]


Wow! It's good to finally get some confirmation that I'm not just being crazy about this! Those are the same numbers as are on the two suspicious packages I bought here (except part of the P7569 was rubbed out). I bought these at Whole Foods in Raleigh over two months ago. Obviously these made it past Seattle and Portland.

They do seem to be very slow to get news out of a recall. I haven't had as much success in getting a straight answer from Health is Wealth. Yesterday I called the FDA but was only able to leave voice mail.

[Keegan]

Well I am assured that mine are the fake ones as I only get the buffallo wings, and I don't think they make a real chicken version.

I was so paranoid when I tasted them, that I emailed them asking if they fried them in the same oil. The said no. Yay!.. I REALLY hope that they are the fake ones, the ones you are questioning.

:dizzy:

[oneness]

I will never be able to buy any of their products now. i have never had any, but knowing the screw up i would not be comfortable eating anything from them.. i was looking forward to trying thier products because i have heard great things about them, but i doubt i will now. i would always be worried that it would happen again..

[epski]

I've never liked the foods this brand sells, both for quality and ingredients, and I've never felt comfortable with them. Your experience does not surprise me, but it does concern me.

[scareyvegan]

i cant believe all of you are saying you wont buy from them again...

mistakes happen...

are you all telling me that youve never gone to a restaurant where they accidentally put an animal product in your food and now you will never go back again???

cut them some slack, i doubt they did it on purpose... sure their response time sucks for clearing up the matter...

but just think... how many companies that sell vegan goods actually bother to write vegan on their products

and you, carol... when you went to soul veg in atlanta, they knowling made you think the Honey-maple syrup was vegan even though it contained honey, and yet you are planning on going to another soul veg

im willing to bet that it was an accident and not on purpose

im going to write to them and ask them how they are going to prevent future mixups better

[karthur]

I spoke with someone at the FDA about this today. She said that they have received similar complaints, that Health is Wealth did mistakenly package real chicken nuggets in vegan chicken-free nuggets packaging, and that there is a recall.

[oneness]

and you, carol... when you went to soul veg in atlanta, they knowling made you think the Honey-maple syrup was vegan even though it contained honey, and yet you are planning on going to another soul veg



I do not eat out anywhere other then veg places.

I would have never been comfortable with using any company that sells both real and vegan chicken.. once i became aware of this i doubt i would have ever used them. the chicken switch just confirmed it for me. i have had problems with places lying, so i am extra cautious. Lilly has never had meat and has only had lard and broth once because a company lied. had she eaten the real chicken i would have been extremely upset and very likely she would have become ill.

I personally think there is a huge difference between being given dead flesh then given honey.. btw, i did not have pancakes and would have smelled the syrup to make sure it was maple, since i hate fake syrups. i also hate honey, so had i taken a bite i would have known and not eaten anymore.

the night before they were very upfront that the BBQ contained honey, so it was probably an oversight..but as i said i do not dine out anywhere that is not veg.. if all i need to worry about is honey or maybe dairy i am fine with that, since i see a big difference between eating dead flesh then eating honey or such.. granted i would be very cautious if i was accidently given honey or dairy when going to that location again..