By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

The VRG received an email from a reader Linda who wrote:
Hello. I’ve noticed urea can be in things like dish soap. Is this a vegan ingredient? I’ve read it was originally discovered in urine, but that it is also made synthetically and the name just stayed.

We responded by saying “In all cases which we’re aware, urea in household products is produced synthetically today from ammonia and carbon dioxide, both non-animal-derived.”

Interested readers may learn more about ingredients including urea (p. 2 second column) used in dish detergent here: http://www.colgate.com.au/Colgate/AU/Corp/ConsumerInfo/PDF/HomeCare_DishwashingLiquids.pdf

For more general information about urea’s industrial uses today: https://www.thechemco.com/chemical/urea/

Sun Products

The VRG followed up with Linda by asking if she had read “urea” on a label of any products she uses. She replied:

Sun Products; I heard Sun detergent was vegan. I think their dish soap might be good, but you can confirm too. I also heard Method is vegan.

The VRG called Sun products and spoke with representative Fran in September 2015. When we asked about urea she wanted a specific product name to look up. Our question was generally about all Sun products. Fran replied:

Urea is chemically synthesized; not derived from animals. It is used as a moisturizing agent.

An Internet search located a Sun detergent ingredient label which listed urea as an ingredient. When we noticed it was out of stock on the vendor’s website, we took the SKU/UPC code and went to the Sun Products Corporation website and entered it on a page where ingredient disclosures could be accessed.

No product with that code resulted although many similar ones did. Checking through a representative sample of Sun product ingredients in this way, no listings included urea.

The tool is user-friendly in accessing complete ingredient information. The function of the ingredient in the product is also stated. Interested consumers should select “Ingredient Disclosure” in the field labeled “Document Type.” Entering either the SKU/UPC code, product type or product name should be sufficient to see ingredient lists.

Method Products

The Method Products, PBC (public-benefit corporation) website contains a list of ingredients used in its products. There is also information on the ingredients’ functions in products and environmental and health summaries. Some ingredients are accompanied by source information. Urea is not present on the list.

To confirm whether urea is in any Method product we sent the company an email from their site contact form. We received this reply from Brian:

All Method products are suitable for vegans…Only our Nourishing Hand Wash contains urea, which is synthetic.

http://methodhome.com/products/nourishing-hand-wash-coconut-milk/

From Method’s FAQ page:

Q: Does Method contain any animal byproducts?

A: No, all method products are vegan and cruelty-free.

The VRG also asked Method about the lipase entry in their ingredient list. Lipase in dairy cheese is often animal-derived and we wondered if this were true in household products. We received this reply:

All Method products…do not contain any animal byproducts, including the lipase ingredient in our Laundry 8x.

When we looked at the ingredients listed for Laundry 8x we didn’t see lipase among them. We followed up with Method and received this reply:

When we initially launched the Laundry 8x, only a small batch of it had lipase in it. We have long ago reformulated the Laundry 8x and it no longer contains it. Only Laundry 8x detergent containers that list it on the label have it. I apologize for the confusion.

Method provides a list of definitions for words commonly used on its site such as “naturally derived” or “natural” in a Green Glossary:

There is some ingredient source information included as well.

Method’s Greenskeeping Toolkit provides even more ingredient information.

NOTE: While researching urea The VRG read on several websites such as http://www.premarin.org/# that there is a urine-derived pharmaceutical product on the market. Wyeth Pharmaceuticals®, a subsidiary of Pfizer® sells Premarin® an equine estrogen intended for human use. It is derived from the urine of pregnant mares.

We spoke with Steve a pharmacist at Pfizer who confirmed this. He stated that their product is “purified from urine.” We asked about its efficacy compared to widely available synthetic estrogens and Steve informed us that to his knowledge Premarin has only been tested against placebos and not tested against synthetic estrogens.

The contents of this posting, our website and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

To support Vegetarian Resource Group research, donate at
http://www.vrg.org/member/donate_buttons.php

To join The Vegetarian Resource Group, go to http://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

The Vegetarian Resource Group is an activist non-profit organization that does veggie outreach all-year-long. We table at different events through the USA and also send literature free of charge to other groups/individuals doing educational activities in schools, hospitals, camps, restaurants, libraries, etc. around the country. Our ability to continue doing this depends on people like you! Your donations allow us to promote the vegan message whenever we’re called upon for assistance. Please consider becoming a monthly donor to VRG. Thanks so much for your support.
You can become a monthly or quarterly donor online here: https://www.givedirect.org/give/givefrm.asp?CID=1565

On Sunday, October 4, 2015 at 6 pm, The Vegetarian Resource Group will host a dinner gathering in Nashville, TN at Sitar Indian Cuisine.

Network with Vegetarian Resource Group staff, volunteers, and other dietitians from around the country during the annual meeting of The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Dietitians, VRG members, students, and the public are invited. Location is near the Lowes Vanderbilt, a FNCE (conference) hotel.

BUFFET MENU:
Samosa (potato and pea turnover)
Salad
Papadum (thin and crispy lentil crackers)
Roti (whole wheat bread)
Chutney
Rice, Tea
Yellow Dal (lentils)
Chana Masala (chickpeas)
Baingan Bhurtha (eggplant)
Bhindi Masala (okra)
Vegetable Patia (fresh vegetables with sweet and sour mangoes)
Fruit

PRICE INCLUDING TAX AND TIP: $30
Refunds only made if we can replace your seat.

To pay, send to The Vegetarian Resource Group, P.O. Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203, call (410) 366-8343 Monday to Friday, 9 to 5, or go to www.vrg.org/donate and write in the comments Nashville Indian dinner and names of attendees.

Shannon Giedieviells is a winner of The Vegetarian Resource Group video contest. Shannon stated: “My best friend, Alyssa, wanted to share her own story about her transition into the vegan lifestyle. I provided the technical skill to bring her story to life on screen. I think more people should open their minds to vegetarianism and veganism for the health benefits and other ethical reasons. My best friend and I love your organization and hope you enjoy the video and use for promoting The Vegetarian Resource Group and educating the public on the lifestyle. Thank you for the opportunity to share my work and for my friend to share her story.”

Here are the video scholarship winners: http://www.vrg.org/veg_videos.php

If you would like to support VRG internships or our video scholarship contest, please donate at www.vrg.org/donate Write the purpose under comments.
VRG also sponsors an annual scholarship contest for high school seniors. See
http://www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm

The Vegetarian Resource Group maintains an online Guide to Vegan/Vegetarian Restaurants in the USA and Canada. Below are some recent additions. The entire guide can be found here: http://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

Conscious Fork
14 Railroad Ave.
Warwick, NY 10990
Conscious Fork houses not only a vegan kitchen; this restaurant also has a juice bar and a market. Enjoy a freshly pressed carrot-apple-ginger juice or an avocado salad in a relaxed setting, or dine outdoors while overlooking Railroad Avenue. For breakfast try the Tofu Scramble. For lunch and dinner dine on soup, salads, sandwiches, bowls, and more. Conscious Fork also offers catering. This restaurant gives great attention to sustainability–it works with local growers and uses compostable take-out containers, among other efforts.

Plant Theory
744 6th St.
Miami Beach, FL 33139
Enjoy waffles, raw crepes, a spinach melt, pad Thai kelp noodles, Italian neatball sub, raw cake, smoothies, and more.

Toad Style
93 Ralph Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11221
Located in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, this vegan establishment serves dishes such as Mediterranean Kale Salad, Pizza Fries, Fried Cauliflower, Banh Mi sandwich, BBQ Pulled Jackfruit sandwich, vegan grilled cheese, and more.

V’s Caribbean Restaurant
1221 Weston St.
Toronto, ON Canada M6M 4P7
Enjoy a soup of the day and dishes such as raw salads, maple jerk tofu, curries, steamed okra, and more.

Vegan Flava Café
4125 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd.
Durham, NC 27707
Dine on a Carrot “Tuna” Wrap, Collard Green Veggie Wrap, Vegan Potato Salad, Coconut Rice, Curry Lentils or Chickpeas, and more. Also enjoy a wide variety of smoothies. This café focuses on organic food and offers classes and entertainment sometimes.

Vitopia Vegan Cheese Shop
1628 SW Jefferson St.
Portland, OR 97201
This vegan cheese shop and deli offers a wide variety of vegan cheeses as well as dishes such as Caprese Salad, Wild Mushroom Pâté, Tempeh Reuben, various panini, and more.

Jamba Juice, a national chain, has just added 3 Almond Milk Smoothies for the season: Peanut Butter & Berries, Pumpkin, and Matcha Green Tea. They are vegan and available for a limited time.

Peanut Butter & Berries: A non-dairy smoothie that captures everyone’s favorite combo – peanut butter and jelly – blending almond milk, peanut butter, blueberries, strawberries, and dates for a deliciously nostalgic PB&J option.

Pumpkin: A non-dairy smoothie bursting with fall’s favorite flavor, pumpkin, mixed with almond milk, bananas, and a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg.

Matcha Green Tea: A non-dairy smoothie that blends the goodness of Matcha green tea with almond milk, bananas, kale, and dates for an antioxidant-rich pick-me-up of vitamins A & C.

What’s more, from September 24-29th, 2015 Jamba Juice guests can enjoy these new Almond Milk Smoothies for just $3 with a special coupon found at JambaJuice.com.

On Saturday September 19th, The Vegetarian Resource Group will be having a booth at the 2nd annual Vegan Soulfest in Baltimore Maryland from noon to 6 pm. Location is Baltimore City Community College (BCCC), 2901 Liberty Heights Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21215. Enjoy vendors, exhibits, speakers, music, and more. Admission is free and the event is open to the public.

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

Founded in 1995 by Zoë Cassimus using many of her original recipes from growing up in the South surrounded by her family’s Mediterranean traditions, Zoës Kitchen features Mediterranean-inspired food in over 150 locations in seventeen states mostly throughout the southern, south central and southeastern United States. Visit http://zoeskitchen.com/Location.aspx for a restaurant locator.

A menu page on Zoës website http://zoeskitchen.com/nutritional-info.aspx states: Click here to view our Gluten Free and Vegetarian and Vegan menu items. An icon consisting of a small circle with a “V” inside it appears next to a few menu options. On the website, the circle appears black. Nowhere on Zoës website could we find vegan or vegetarian definitions.

The VRG asked Zoës whether the black icon represented “vegetarian” or “vegan” and how those terms were used. We received this response:

A “V” laid in an orange circle denotes vegan and a “V” in a green square denotes vegetarian.

A Zoës website page with links to local menus shows the orange and green icons but does not define the terms. For example (at the bottom): http://goo.gl/MOzX04

In order to be more helpful to readers we followed up with Zoës by asking again how they define “vegan” and “vegetarian.” The Content and Community Coordinator at Zoës Kitchen stated: After further research and collaboration with our Food & Beverage team, we unfortunately do not have the resources to answer the additional follow-up questions at this time. As we continue to grow, our resources will continue to expand – but right now we cannot provide you with the information you are looking for.

We will be sure to keep these questions top of mind moving forward.

Initially we contacted Zoës Kitchen in December 2014 and their same-day response from their Director of Brand Lauren Hopkins to our inquiry about doing a feature story on their vegan menu items was very positive: That sounds great! I’m happy to help. If you’d like to send questions my way, I’m happy to get answers back to you. Thanks!

At the end of April 2015 we received answers to most of our initial questions in an email sent by Kari Kriewald. Here is what she found out for The VRG: Zoës Kitchen offers hummus on its menu which “is vegan by itself” according to Zoës. The Hummus Salad Plate includes a Greek salad and cucumber raita. Patrons may request that the feta be left off of the salad. The cucumber raita is made with yogurt.

Local menus list other hummus options. The Basil Pesto Hummus is listed as vegetarian. The Red Pepper Hummus is listed as vegan. More description on the hummus offerings appear at this link from Zoës website: http://zoeskitchen.com/About-Zoes/News/news-archive-2015/News-Article-02112015.aspx

Bread products served at Zoës include a flatbread pita and a pocket pita. We learned from Zoës that Our flatbread pita is vegetarian; however our pocket pita …does contain L-cysteine…I want to state this is based on our current spec items and is subject to change at any given time.

The VRG asked Zoës about the source of the L-cysteine but the restaurant chain did not give an answer. Zoës also didn’t define “vegetarian” used in the paragraph above.

We requested more information on bread products that could be ordered with hummus by asking Can the flatbread be ordered with the hummus? Does the flatbread contain dairy, egg, honey, lard or L-cysteine? What would the flatbread be served with? Is there another bread product served with the hummus and is it vegan?

Zoës didn’t provide more detail. Concerned diners should ask a store manager for more information. Asking to view the product package may help; a follow-up call to the supplier may be necessary when in doubt.

Zoës Kitchen offers a Veggie Kabob which is noted with the round icon on the Under 500 menu but not so noted on the gluten-free menu. The vegan icon also appears next to this entree on some local menus. The VRG asked Zoës about kitchen protocols in order to avoid cross-contamination with animal products for vegan menu dishes and learned that before prepping any new item we use procedures for the team to use clean and sanitized cutting boards, prep space, and utensils…The vegetables are sliced and skewered by hand.

Zoës also told us that the white beans served with the Veggie Kabob or as a side dish are prepared following the same kitchen protocol to avoid cross-contamination with non-vegan items. There is a vegan icon on the menus next to the bean side dish.

There is a Spinach Roll-Up at Zoës which does not have a vegan or vegetarian symbol beside its name on the Simply 500 menu but does have a vegetarian icon on the local menu. We asked if this menu item could be ordered without cheese. Zoës replied by email that Unfortunately the spinach rollups cannot be ordered without cheese. Our current tortillas do not contain [dairy, honey or L-cysteine]; however, keep in mind it is possible our distributor could provide us a substitute product in case of an out of stock situation and we cannot guarantee this statement would hold true for any sub product. Although all subs are to be approved, it is possible a product could be subbed without us knowing ahead of time.

The Veggie Pizza at Zoës also does not have a vegan or vegetarian icon by its name on the Simply 500 menu but does have a vegetarian symbol on the local menu. The VRG wanted to know if it could be ordered as a vegan option. We learned that:

Yes it can be ordered without cheese, but they would also have to leave off the spinach mix because it contains cheese. Our flatbread pita is vegetarian; however our pocket pita which is what they use to make the pizza does contain L-cysteine. Again, I want to state this is based on our current spec items and are subject to change at any given time…Currently, our mozzarella and feta cheese uses microbial enzymes not animal-based; again, subject to change if we change suppliers or a sub is sent to the stores.

Regarding soups, side dishes and sandwiches:

“The tomato bisque is a cream-based soup…we do not have a vegan option.”

“We do not use mayonnaise in our potato salad.” There is a vegan icon next to it on the menu.

Neither the marinated slaw nor the pasta salad can be ordered without feta cheese because it’s “in the mixture.”

The Pimento Half-Classic sandwich is made with “cheddar cheese and mayonnaise.”

When asked which salad dressing is free of all animal products including egg, dairy, animal flavors, seafood extracts, and honey we were told that “Our Greek dressing is vegan.”

A Special Diets page on the website provides an interactive tool to identify menu options appropriate for someone who wishes to avoid certain ingredients. http://www.nutritionix.com/zoes-kitchen/menu/special-diets/premium?allergens=eggs,fish,milk,shellfish

The VRG used this tool to identify menu items without eggs, milk, fish and shellfish. “Meat” or “poultry” were not possible exclusions since they are not on the FALCPA list (Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004)

Thus, the generated list included a few items containing chicken as well as those without eggs, milk, fish and shellfish. Ingredients are also listed on this page for some items (click through “more info” located beside the green dots on the right side of the screen) although it is not clear from the ingredients list themselves if each component is all-vegetable (e.g., red pepper pesto base). Diners may wish to ask a store manager about any questionable ingredient before ordering.

The local menu links found on the locator page after selecting a specific restaurant http://zoeskitchen.com/Location.aspx and the allergen tool results generated by our search described above included the following listings: Orzo Tabouli, Quinoa Salad -No Feta and Red Pepper Hummus.

On local menus the vegan symbol only appears next to the Red Pepper Hummus while the Orzo Tabouli Salad and Quinoa Salad show the vegetarian icon. The local menus state that the Orzo Tabouli Salad includes feta cheese.

When filtered in different ways the allergen tool lists “Orzo Tabouli” and “Tabouli Salad.” Only the former appears when filtered for egg and milk absence and also when filtered for milk absence alone. Both are listed when filtered for egg absence alone. It is not clear whether they are the same menu item or not.

http://www.nutritionix.com/zoes-kitchen/menu/special-diets/premium?allergens=milk
http://www.nutritionix.com/zoes-kitchen/menu/special-diets/premium?allergens=eggs

No further information is available on these menu options. Patrons should consult with a store manager if interested.

The contents of this posting, our website and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgement about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

To support The Vegetarian Resource Group research, donate at
https://www.givedirect.org/give/givefrm.asp?CID=1565

Join The Vegetarian Resource Group at http://www.vrg.org/member/

Vegan group seeks Jack or Jill of all trades good at multi-tasking for part-time job 20-28 hours per week in Baltimore, Maryland. Staff person clerically and physically ships vegan books, Vegetarian Journal, and other educational materials throughout the country. Does the billing, packing, mailing and marketing of items to consumers and wholesalers. Answers phone and e-mails. Coordinates volunteers doing booths, events, and other activities around the country. Works with interns, maintains press list, and supervises volunteers’ updating of national restaurant list and responses to scholarship entries. Posts to social media accounts. Entrepreneurial personality helpful. Please send resume, writing sample, and cover letter addressing your short term and long term goals, interests, vegetarian and vegan knowledge, salary requirements, skills, strengths, and challenges to The Vegetarian Resource Group, Attn. Volunteer Coordinator Job at [email protected].

Chicago Vegan Foods makes Dandies, a vegan marshmallow (no gelatin!) in both regular size and in a mini size. This company recently released Mini Vegan Pumpkin Flavored Marshmallows that are perfect for the autumn season. Enjoy a new twist to these vegan treats during Halloween, Thanksgiving, etc.

For more information see: http://www.chicagoveganfoods.com/

You can purchase them online from Vegan Essentials: https://store.veganessentials.com/pumpkin-dandies-minis-non-gmo-air-puffed-vegan-marshmallows-by-chicago-vegan-foods-p4554.aspx?utm_source=pumpkin+dandies&utm_campaign=Pumpkin+Dandies&utm_medium=email