I prefer to use butter. It tastes so good
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Flora “plant based spread”. I’m pretty ourtaged by this product because it is labbelled as plant based but contains dairy. I know it says small “contains buttermilk” but the term “plant based” should not be used on any foods containing animal products.
This is the type of thing that causes anaphylactic reactions from people not being as careful as they should.
When will there be some sort of rules around using “plant based”.
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Hello @Mishyfis, and welcome to the community.
You have raised an interesting point about product labelling and description.
You have the same item posted under a different topic, ‘Spot a shonky’. It’s only necessary to post once in the topic that is most relevant.
The Choice Community also has an existing topic that discusses issues related to Plant Based Butter spreads. You are welcome to continue discussion on that topic.
Flora also promote a 100% plant based product with zero butter milk added.
Whether ‘plant based’ should only apply to products that contain zero animal fats and proteins might be a big ask. Most manufactured and processed products Contain a mix of animal, mineral and vegetable. For us it’s easy to read product labels and ingredients lists that are most important. ‘May contain nuts’ or egg products or traces of seafood or … there are many that some of us need to avoid.
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It is labelled as plant based butter rather than spread. If it was plant based spread, then I would have an issue, but with plant based butter labelling it as plant based makes it clear it isn’t principally based on milk solids. With packaging and shape indicates traditional butter…so wording has been added not to create confusion at point of purchase…the customer thinking it dairy based butter.
The packaging from what I can see does not indicate it is suitable for vegans.
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One would hope with the publicity over labelling and allergic reactions everyone so affected would be zealous checking ingredients, but plant based suggests a plant ‘base’, not an all inclusive plant ingredient list.
Since you specifically called out ‘animal products’, as @phb noted there is nothing on the label to suggest it is vegan, for example.
Are you suggesting such products be labelled ‘plant based contains dairy’ to alert those so allergic, under the applicable standards?
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If one has allergies or other dietary requirements then there is no substitute for checking the ingredients. Most food manufacturers provide good labeling, with common allergens highlighted.
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Amusingly, I use Nuttelex Buttery, which has absolutely nothing to do with nuts, or butter.
But, for a low saturated fat, very low trans fat, lowish sodium spreading and cooking option it ain’t bad.
Why don’t we get started on “flour” that isn’t actually flour but meal? Think almond ‘flour’, coconut ‘flour’… or sugar that IS sugar but isn’t called sugar, like Rapadura/Panela?
Mis-naming things is getting worse and worse.
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Marketing plays games with us consumers all the time.
It becomes a game of wits as far as I’m concerned. Only the marketing gurus get to sit, stand or practice blessing brand owners in a comforting inspirational office. There is no immediacy or time pressure on inspiration. Once the best ideas have been trial tested and approved, time to relax.
For the time poor consumer racing around the supermarket no such luxury. Do consumers really have time to analyse every branded product and assess the accuracy and reliability of each product. Most of us probably do it by exception, but when in a hurry, those magic product labels have been physiologically proven to work more often than not.
I’d suggest we lost the battle long before peanut paste was incorrectly labelled ‘butter’. On the same logic we should perhaps call hommus ‘chickpea butter’. I know many who use hommus in lieu of butter/margarine.
Or considering in 1903 when Coke ceased deliberately adding cocaine (37gm per litre) to its cola. There after perhaps it should have been relabelled dried cocoa leaf cola?
Yes, it appears ‘Flora’ noted for its 100% plant derived margarine (Pro-Active) might be clever in it’s marketing? IE in trying to redefine what butter is by adding a small dairy content to a vegetable based product. It’s still not butter to me. It’s just margarine with a dash of buttermilk added. Like added salt, sugars etc, just one more thing to check on the back of any new or changed product.
Perhaps Vegetarians and Vegans need to come up with a registered and authorised product label they can sell to manufacturers who meet the standard, ‘VaP’ or ‘VaG’ for vegetarian/vegan approved. We do it for heart foundation ticks, health stars, RSPA certification, environmentally safe, etc. What’s one more on the list?
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Except that you would need two different certifications / logos.
You mean two more on the list to confuse time-poor consumers? 
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Thanks for your comment. My daughter has a severe milk allergy. I probably get too concerned about these types of thing. I am very careful with any product that she consumes. The problem I have with this one is that it’s one that is going to trick people like Daycarers, grandparents, well meaning friends/family members of allergy kids. I just don’t think there should be room for these tricks in a world where allergies are increasing daily.
I can see that the FSA definition of butter has been mentioned. I couldn’t see that anyone had mentioned the margarine definition. Margarine means an edible oil spread containing no less than 800g/kg of edible oils.
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Which is why some products are called “spread”, they have less than 80% oil, typically 60-70%.
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My issue is the proliferation of products which prominently include the term “butter” or “buttery” but are not pure butter. I have been caught out a few times buying “butter” which I later find has vegetable oils in it.
It is a misleading practice. the terms “butter” or “buttery” should not be allowed on anything that has plant based products in it.
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I agree that only real butter should be described as butter but I don’t have a problem with the term Buttery.
We buy Flora Pro Activ Buttery as it has plant sterols in it and it actually tastes like real butter so we get the health benefits without the awful taste of margarine.
Without the term Buttery on the pack, we would not know which one to buy.
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Buttery is only an adjective to descride some quality of the product eg mouth feel, taste. Therefore to call something buttery just means it has some character like butter but isn’t as you point of necessarily butter (or completely butter). They do use terms like nut butter on some goods but it certainly is qualified by nut at the beginning or Almond or Cashew…or peanut 
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