Mars recovers its vegetarian integrity

Manufacturing News, Source : TheManufacturer.com
Published : 21 May 2007 10:15
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Chocolate maker, Mars, has bowed to consumer pressure and reversed its decision to use animal extracts in the manufacture of its chocolate.

The company caused an uproar among the UK’s three million vegetarians when it announced plans to change the whey used in some of its products from a vegetarian source to one with trances of the animal enzyme, rennet.

An effective campaign waged by the Vegetarian Society saw more than 6000 people deluge the company with emails and phone calls of complaint during the course of just one week. Forty MPs sighed a petition of opposition.

Fiona Dawnson, managing director of Mars UK, said, “It because very clear, very quickly that we had made a mistake, for which I am sorry. There are three million vegetarians in the UK and not only did we disappoint them, bet we upset a lot of the consumers.”

The company has said that it is now changing its recipes back immediately.

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12 November 2009, London
We know the economic environment is tough but we also know UK manufacturing is strong and resilient - if there were ever a year when the successes of UK Manufacturing need to be recognised then surely 2009 is it!
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