Coca Cola Response Part II

Actual information from Coca Cola about animal products in their products.
Here's their response:
"Thank you for contacting The Coca-Cola Company, Mr. Salamán.  We appreciate your interest in our Company.
Except the products that contain cochineal (which is listed on the label) and the products that contain milk (which is also indicated on the label), brands of The Coca-Cola Company in the United States do not contain any ingredient derived from animals.
However, some of our juice products contain Vitamin D3, which is derived from lanolin.  Lanolin is a natural oil in the fiber of sheep's wool.  It is separated from the wool after the sheep's hair is cut (sheared).  Lanolin oil is obtainable without harming the sheep but may be an issue for strict vegetarians.
Additionally, some of our suppliers use a common industry practice for grape juice clarification that does involve animal by-products.  The gelatin used to clarify the juice is made from bovine skin.
In the U.S., the only Coca-Cola brand product that is currently produced with cochineal is Minute Maid Juices To Go Ruby Red Grapefruit Drink.
The only currently manufactured Coca-Cola brand products that contain milk are Far Coast (WOCC only), FUZE Refresh, and Minute Maid Fruit and Creme Swirls.

Tienecka
Industry and Consumer Affairs
The Coca-Cola Company"

So, cool, we got some actual information for once and I don't see Beaver Butt Juice listed. However, lets take a look at what IS in their products.
First, we have cochineal. What is cochineal? You ask. Good question! Let's take a look.

This bug is basically in any red food.

That's right, it's a bug, and yes, they crush the bug and add it to their drinks. Yum, bugs are so good. Anyway, bugs, whatever, that's not so bad.
Lanolin is described by the e-mail itself, so I won't go into it.
Gelatin made from bovine skin? Sounds delicious!

"Hey baby, you want some gelatin?"

So, there you have it folks. No beaver butt juice, just bugs, wool, cow skin, and milk.

Coca Cola Response

So, I received a response from Coca Cola and let's just say I should have listened to the less clever bot.
Here we go:
"Thank you for contacting The Coca-Cola Company, Mr. Salamán. We appreciate your interest in our Company.
Flavor formulations are very valuable proprietary information, therefore, we are not able to provide the source of any of our flavors. However, please be assured that all flavors used in brands of The Coca-Cola Company are recognized as safe and suitable for use by the local regulatory officials in the countries in which they are sold.
Additionally, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the substances that can be labeled as flavors, whether natural or artificial, and we strictly adhere to all such guidelines. If you would like to learn more about the FDA standards relating to flavors, they can be reached at www.fda.gov or by phone at 1-888-INFO FDA.

Karla
Industry and Consumer Affairs
The Coca-Cola Company

Hey kids, you wanna try some coke?

Like Hershey, Coca Cola does not issue it's people impressive titles, or even last names. The also cannot spell Georgie Salamán, the Marketing Manager of America, Inc's name correctly. But, back to the issue.
Their response doesn't tell me anything new, so I tried a different approach. I e-mailed them again, but this time I wrote,"Is it possible to know which products use animals, or animal products, in their manufacture?"
We'll have to wait and see if they get back to me.

You can hope for the best, but we already know the answer. *Wink*

Conclusion: Unknown, but most likely.

Coca Cola

Coca Cola is the largest beverage company in the world, which really says something about how much soda people drink.

This is an average daily intake.

My first impression of the Coca Cola website was, "Wow! It's very red and white." But then I start looking around and see a button at the bottom that says "Nutrition Information", so I figure that's a good place to start. After all, Beaver butt juice is part of a a nutritious soda, or possibly flavored water. No information there, so it's on to the contact us form!
There's a little chat box on the contact us page that's a robot talking to you, like cleverbot, only not so clever. I went ahead and asked it about beaver anal discharge and this is what it came back with: "We are not able to disclose or comment on the flavor composition of Coca-Cola brand products; this information is proprietary to The Coca-Cola Company."
Woh, not looking good for you Coke, but then it continued: "If we use the word "natural" on our labels or in advertising, the product or ingredients referred to must be from a natural source. The FDA does allow a minimal amount of processing while still allowing the word "natural" to be used but the ingredient will not be chemically-produced. Many ingredients can have both a natural source and be chemically produced. This may be why some products without the natural claim may have similar ingredient lists to products using the natural claim."
Really not looking good for you.

I find your lack of faith, disturbing.

So, their e-mail form asks for name, address, sex, age, phone number, and birthday. Birthday? Coca cola porn, maybe?
Anyway, here's the e-mail I sent them: "Hello, I was wondering if any of your products uses castoreum as a natural flavor. Thank you for your time."
I shortened it, because this is Coca Cola, they'll get back to me in a few days.

Nabisco aka Mondelez Answer

I received a response from the makers of fig newtons, oops I mean newtons. Delicious, delicious, newtons.

Even bimbos love them!

Here we go:
"Hi Punchie,
The supplier from which we obtain the natural flavoring will not reveal the exact ingredients to us, as they consider it to be proprietary.
We do require the suppliers to inform us if any of the following components are in the flavor so we can label them on the ingredient line:
eggs, dairy, celery, soy, treenuts, peanuts, wheat, fish, shellfish, seafood, gluten and sulfites.
Also, we do not include monosodium glutamate (also known as MSG), hydrolyzed protein (sometimes known as hydrolyzed vegetable protein or HVP) or autolyzed yeast extract under the term 'natural flavor' in the ingredient line.
What I can tell you is that if any of our products contains protein from a substance recognized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to cause severe to life-threatening reactions in susceptible individuals, those substances are ALWAYS listed on the ingredient statement.
If you haven't done so already, please add our site to your favorites and visit us again soon!
Adele Stapley
Operations Manager
~~TLXEA_24493608~~Y"

Some of the things in this e-mail caught me by surprise. First, they think my name is Punchie, which is hilarious. Second, like Jelly Belly, they don't know what is in their products, but they made sure to tell me things I didn't ask for. Then they ask me to add thier website to their favorites, like I hadn't already done that! Did you miss the part where they make fig newtons? A manager got back to me, which makes me feel special and she has a last name, so there's a bonus.
Then, I saw this "~~TLXEA_24493608~~Y". What is that? Then, it dawned on me, it's a Fig Newton cypher. If I can figure out the secret code, I can get free fig newtons!
At least, I hope so, even though I might get the same flavor licking a beaver's rectum.

"Everyone loves my rectum."

Conclusion: They don't know what's in their own delicious snacks.

Nabisco

Ok, I'll say it. I love fig newtons. I eat them by the sleeve. So, I thought I'd check to see if I've been eating beaver butt juice this whole time.

Irresistible goodness, or irresistible anal discharge?

I looked up Nabisco, who makes yummy fig newtons and found out two things. First, they're not called fig newtons anymore, they're just newtons. That sounds so much more snobby than fig newtons, don't you think? Also, when did they drop the fig from the front? I decided to find out.
The Unnecessary History of Newtons

Figs and fruit were recommended by doctors for digestion problems, so people ate biscuits and fruit together all the time. A genius in Philadelphia, but born in Ohio, named Charles Roser, his friends called him Figgy Charlie because he loved figs so much, developed a machine that could inject fig paste into pastry dough. Some company, that no longer exists, bought the machine and called them fig, because that's what's in them, newtons, after Newton, Massachusetts. I have no idea why they named them after Newton, Massachusetts, since they were based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Charles Roser should be a national hero.

Anyway, I found a Time article that stated that Newtons changed their name this year, so I'm not crazy. The second thing I found out, what did you think I forgot?, was that Nabisco is owned by a company called Mondelez International. So, I looked up their website and was immediately accosted by a huge banner that declares Mondelez International is "PASSIONATE ABOUT TRANSFORMING SNACKING." It's all in caps, so you know they're serious.

Don't worry, she's just snacking.

Mondelez International makes tons of snacks you've never heard of and a lot you have. They're also the ones you can blame for your Cadbury Creme Egg shrinkage over the years. He's their contact form so you can vent about that one. Nothing on their website about castoreum, so it's time for me to use their contact form, but not about Cadbury Creme Egg shrinkage.
You'll see that they ask for your age range. I can't imagine why. Do they have different people who respond to young and old people? Also, they ask for your name. YOUR REAL NAME. Don't they realize this is the internet. No one uses their real name. I put in Punchie McFisto, hopefully they think it's a real name. It then pops up this thing that says, "Hey, have you looked in our FAQ for the answer to your question, because we don't want to be bothered by you." I tested the square in the top right hand corner of the little pop up and it closed. Everything seems to be working.
Then they ask for your address. Mondelez HQ is in Deerfield, IL, so I wasn't worried. Then I looked up where that was and it's right next to Chicago! Chicago is the murder capital of the United States. Two people are murdered in Chicago everyday. If you live in Chicago, you're hardcore. German thugs I wasn't worried about, but Chicago thugs scare me a little.

Pictured: Chicago Thug

Then, I remembered this is the internet, so I lied about my address. Then, as if I haven't filled out enough, it asks for the specific product I'm asking about and the UFC code. I put "All Products" and "00000000". Finally, it asks if spamming me is okay. I told them no. At last, the message was sent and a message pops up thanking me for my interest. Which I'm sure is true. Why else would they ask me so many questions and have the "leave me alone" pop up after I typed my question to them.
Here's the e-mail I sent them:
"Hello, I was wondering if any of your delicious products uses castoreum as a natural flavor. If I don't receive a response within 30 days, I'll assume the answer is yes. Thank you for your time."

This creepy guy makes we want to go out and buy some snacks right now, or curl up into a ball and cry.

Note: The black and white photo, above, is not Charles Roser, it's George Westinghouse Jr. George had nothing to do with fig newtons, or snacks at all, besides the ones he ate. I just put the picture up because of his awesome mustache.

Hershey Response

Ok, I received a response from Hershey.
Here we go:
"Thank you for contacting The Hershey Company about our products.
We always appreciate hearing from our consumers and would like to thank you for sharing your comments regarding castoreum. The natural flavors in our products do not contain castoreum.
Your interest in our company is appreciated.
Cindy
Consumer Representative"

Pictured: Cindy

First of all I am very disappointed in Cindy's lack of an impressive title. Haribo sent an e-mail from their Marketing Manager. That's right, they're MARKETING MANAGER, with a list of addresses and phone numbers. What do I get from Hershey? Someone without an awesome title. Screw you Hershey, screw you!
Anyway, we got our answer from Ms. No Title.

Foiled again!

Conclusion: Hershey does not use Beaver Butt Juice, or impressive titles.

In case you missed it the first time, here's a link to some chocolate porn.

Haribo Response

Well, I received two responses from Haribo. Here's the first:
"Thank you for your email. I've notified the appropriate personnel regarding your inquiry and will respond to your question as soon as I have more information.
Thank you for your interest in Haribo."

So, I thought I was going to get a Jelly Belly "We don't know" response. However, I was wrong. Not only did I get a response, but I got a response the very same day.

Truthfully, I thought I'd never get a response.

Something tells me, they don't get many e-mails about beaver butt juice in their products. Well, here's their second response:
"I just want to let you know that we don't use castoreum in any stage of our production cycle.

Regards,
Georgie Salamán
Marketing Manager of America, Inc.
1825 Woodlawn Drive, Ste. #204
Baltimore, MD 21207
Ph: (410) 265-8890 / Ext. 20
Fax: (410) 265-8898
Email: georgie.salaman@us.haribo.com

I included all his contact info, because it looks all official and impressive. I didn't want to rob Georgie of that. Also, I'm not sure why he's the marketing manager of "America, Inc". But anyway, I'm losing focus.

Conclusion: Haribo products do not contain Beaver Butt Juice!

Although, they might still give you diabetes.

Hershey

Hershey makes more than chocolate, they make a wide range of candy and mints, which is also candy. Yes, some of them are raspberry flavored, but are they beaver butt juice flavored? Let's find out.
First, I visit the FAQ page on their website, hoping to see beaver butt juice somewhere. Hilariously they have a nutrition and wellness page. It's candy, no matter what you want to believe. Sadly, I could not find a mention of castoreum anywhere. So, it's back to the e-mail form.
Every site seems to have odd questions they ask. Hershey wants to know if you're an adult, like they're going to show you some chocolate porn, or something.

Chocolate Porn.

Here's the email: "Hello, I was wondering if any of your delicious products, chocolate, or otherwise, uses castoreum as a natural flavor. If I don't receive a response within 30 days, I'll assume the answer is yes. Thank you for your time."
It goes to a page telling me they will respond in a "timely manner". Whatever that means, but they also give me a phone number: "You may call Toll-Free 1-800-468-1714. (Weekdays 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM ET)".
Having worked at call centers for credit cards, cell phones, cars, and medicare, I had a to laugh a bit at the people working in the Hershey call center.

It's amazing how many attractive woman wearing headsets are pulled up in a google image search of call centers.

Seriously, I hate to leave you hanging, so here's a link to some chocolate porn.

Haribo

Next, we move to candy everyone has had, but may not know the company, Haribo. They are based in Germany and are a company that takes its quality seriously, at least, according to their website. According to their website, their candy is made in Turkey. That makes a lot of sense. When I think quality, I think Turkey.
So, while filling out the e-mail form, they asked for my address and it's a mandatory field. This scared me a little, are they going to send some German thugs to my house?

Scary.

Searching their website, I did find out they use beef and pork gelatin and are not kosher. Sadly, however, there was nothing about beaver butt juice.
This is the email I sent them:
"Hello, I was wondering if any of your delicious products uses castoreum as a natural flavor. If I don't receive a response within 30 days, I'll assume the answer is yes. Thank you for your time."
I changed it up a bit to sound nicer.

By the way, here's the most common product of theirs I see:

When I was a kid, I ate these things by the pound. That's why I have diabetes.

Jelly Belly Answer

So, I received an e-mail back for Jelly Belly and good for them for getting back to me so fast. Here's their response:
"We do not add castoreum to any of our candy; however, we purchase our flavorings from different flavoring houses. They are only required to disclose the top 8 allergens as an ingredient. The rest of the ingredients that make up their flavorings are proprietary so we do not know if any of them contain castoreum."

Wait, what?

Conclusion: They don't know what's in their own candy.

Jelly Belly

Going to start with an old time favorite. Jelly Belly.

Real raspberries, or butt juice?

This is the email I sent them:

"Hello, I was wondering if any of your jelly beans uses castoreum as a natural flavor. If you do not respond within 30 days, I'll assume the answer is yes. Thank you for your time."

Reference #  W053253-032913

I had to include the "If you do not respond within 30 days" threat, because I hear some companies never answer, because the answer is yes.

Any products you're wondering about? Let me know!

Castoreum and you.

Castoreum is a yellowish secretion, of the castor sac, in male and female beavers. These sacs are beneath the beavers tail, right next to the anus. Also, it's a food additive. That's right, there's no telling how many times you've ingested it either, as it is used as a raspberry, strawberry, and vanilla flavoring. Don't bother looking for it on a list of ingredients either, it's often listed as "natural flavoring".

Eat it! Eat my butt juice!

I don't like the idea of ingesting beaver butt juice, aka castoreum, even if it is deemed "reasonably safe" by the FDA. So, I had an idea. I'm going to gather a list of strawberry, raspberry, and vanilla products and contact the manufactures to see if castoreum is a "natural flavor" in their product.

Doesn't that look tasty?