Bonduelle has admitted the flavourings of some pan-fried vegetable dishes contain meat extracts in minor quantities that do not appear on recipe labels.
The presence of meat was brought to light by the Vegemag website and has angered vegetarians and Jewish and Muslim groups.
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In a statement today, Bonduelle said around 0.5% of the flavourings' contents were made up of meat extracts – chicken, beef, pork and mutton – and these could be found in less than 20 of its range of 300 products.
Flavourings containing meat are also thought to be found in nine Cassegrain products but this has not been confirmed.
"Labelling on all our products meets the relevant norms and which are the object of regular verification by the authorities. According to the regulations in force, these flavourings can be labelled as such or as natural flavourings without an obligation to signal they contain ingredients of animal origin," the statement underlined.
Bonduelle has added information on its website about products that contain the flavourings. This will also appear on packaging but that will take around six months to complete.
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By GlobalDataReports claim the list of products is likely to extend to those manufactured for private labels – among them supermarkets Carrefour and Intermarche. Bonduelle has declined to comment.
