Thank you for contacting the Office of the Attorney General regarding your consumer complaint. The form response, typical for agencies dealing with consumer complaints, read: The response to our letter appeared on a postcard and was quite disheartening. We hope your office will have an opportunity to investigate this matter. The company has not made available a laboratory report testing for collagen in their Kosher-Jel. Ted Loomos, vice-president of the company, who vehemently denied that the product contained animal ingredients. Could it be the company has neglected to list any additional ingredients? The ingredient list on the package states, "Contains carageenan, locust bean gum, and malto-dextrin." A product containing these three items would not test positive for collagen.
We are including information from the two laboratories to support this statement. Two laboratories found that the samples contained over 50% collagen indicating the product did indeed possess animal ingredients. They have been suspicious enough to submit packages to laboratories for analysis. This Illinois-based company has stated on its packages of Emes Kosher-Jel that the product "contains no meat, no dairy products."Ī few vegetarians have been suspicious of this product because it mimics regular gelatin that is made from animal collagen. Vegetarians across the United States are incensed because for years they have been duped by Emes Kosher Products. Meanwhile, we decided to contact the Illinois Attorney General's Office to file a consumer complaint. Our August story details these charges.Īlthough the company was barraged with phone calls, Vice President Ted` Loomos continued to assure callers that the product contained no animal ingredients and was vegan. VIP paid for one of those tests to counter Emes' claims that the previous two were part of a Seventh-day Adventist plot against the company.
Three laboratory tests revealed over 50% animal protein in this so-called imitation gelatin. How dare we challenge a product that had been considered a vegan item for years! This was a company that had been in business for a half century.Īfter we published our August story, there was no doubt: the Kosher Jel was not vegetarian. It was greeted with skepticism and derision. When we began our investigation in May, we learned of two instances where laboratory tests revealed the product contained over 50% animal protein. What purchasers did not realize was that it acted like real gelatin because it was real gelatin.Įarlier this year Vegetarians in Paradise became aware of rumors that the Jel was not a vegetarian product. It performed like gelatin in all kinds of vegetarian recipes, especially desserts. Vegetarians have relied on Emes Kosher Jel for years as a substitute for gelatin derived from animal sources.
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