Tivall accused of labeling animal products as vegetable

Did Tivall mislead consumers by categorizing eggs as vegetarian products? The Anonymous for Animal Rights association complained to the Ministry of Industry and Trade ombudsman that Tivall is doing exactly that by labeling certain products containing eggs as "made of vegetable matter" ("min hatzomeach"). The products in question include "vegetable schnitzel" and "vegetarian hamburger," both of which contain eggs.

Anonymous claims to have been fielding mounting numbers of complaints about Tivall products from vegan consumers, who by choice eat no animal matter whatsoever, including dairy products of all types, and eggs. The complaint was that certain products were marked as vegetarian but contained eggs.

In a letter to Tivall, with a copy to the Ministry of Industry and Trade's consumer protection arm, attorney Revital Shechter of Anonymous asked Tivall to remove the labeling "vegetarian" from the Tivall products containing eggs. "It is harder to think of anything more misleading than a company deliberately targeting a population that wants vegetarian products, and selling it a product including animal components as 'vegetarian schnitzel,'" she wrote.

Consumers who eschew animal products for ethical, environmental or medical reasons were distressed to learn they had eaten them unwittingly, Anonymous stated.

The Consumer Council says it isn't enough to list the ingredients in small print. The impression left by "vegetarian" is that the product is in fact vegetarian, containing no animal products.