Surely plant-based dairy drinks cannot pose as 'milks'?

Milk or emulsion?

Sir, It was heartening to see your report (‘Dairy alternatives brands warned over labels after EU case,’ thegrocer.co.uk, 15 June) that the European Court of Justice has reinforced the existing European policy that plant-based drinks and foods cannot pose as ‘dairy’ products or use dairy descriptors such as ‘yoghurt’, ‘cheese’ or ‘milk’.

So why a few days later do you carry details of a product and twice follow the manufacturer’s use of the word ‘milk’ to describe what is actually an almond nut emulsion (‘Pip & Nut launches first almond milks,’ 20 June)?

This new ambient product will retail at £2/litre compared with my local supermarket selling ambient flavoured real milk at £1/litre. I presume the price difference will be split between the marketing budget and legal expenses?

Paul Flatt, Dairy Industry Research Associates


Double standards?

Sir, The best response to the shooting of a fox on Sainsbury’s property is to have a grown up debate on genuine animal welfare. The use of hounds as a means of fox control was the lesser of the evils. The fox was either killed outright or escaped outright. And hounds are still used to catch rats. The Labour government at the time would have been wiser to have invested the time and energy into genuine animal welfare like insisting that cattle for slaughter are pre-stunned.

John Barstow, details supplied


A Royals conundrum

Sir, I am old enough to remember when Jersey potatoes were called Jersey kidneys because of their shape: small, oval, with an indentation on one side. They were delicious.

Over the years the shape became just oval. Genetically engineered? Maybe to suit Brussels or supermarkets. This did not affect the taste. The potatoes became Royals and were advertised on television by chef Anton Mossiman.

The present Jersey potatoes bear no resemblance to the ones then advertised, at whichever supermarket you shop. They are large by comparison and have to be scraped, and often have blemishes associated with mechanical digging. Needless to say these Royals do not taste the same. They could well be second crop so where did the first crop go? In any event they are overpriced and marketed under false pretences. What is going on?

Elizabeth Davison, details supplied