{"id":15064,"date":"2020-03-05T09:00:46","date_gmt":"2020-03-05T14:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=15064"},"modified":"2020-02-25T10:25:03","modified_gmt":"2020-02-25T15:25:03","slug":"7-eleven-cheese-pizza-ingredients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2020\/03\/05\/7-eleven-cheese-pizza-ingredients\/","title":{"rendered":"7-Eleven\u00ae Cheese Pizza Ingredients"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The VRG received an email inquiry asking us to look into 7-Eleven pizza ingredients. The reader had been trying to get answers from the chain with no luck. For example, is the crust or red sauce vegan?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(EDITORS NOTE: See bottom of this article for vegan pizza\nideas. There are so many frozen vegan pizzas now and restaurants offering vegan\npizza, this is your best bet. We’ve come a long way since our staff would order\npizza without cheese. But we would still recommend that method as a good way to\ngo sometimes if you don\u2019t want the fat in vegan or non-vegan cheese, and want\nto load up with vegetables on the crust.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In January 2020, The VRG sent a\ncontact request form through the 7-Eleven website asking for a complete\ningredient statement for the cheese\npizza<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We specifically wanted to know:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Is the cheese made with animal rennet?<\/li>
  2. Are there animal fats (such as lard) in the crust or sauce?<\/li>
  3. Is the dough made with animal- or human hair-derived L-cysteine?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    We also called the 7-Eleven consumer\nline. They wrote down our questions, and told us they would send them to the\ncorporate office. It would take 3-5 business days to get a response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A few days later we received an\nemail from a 7-Eleven business consultant for the Maryland region. That email\ncontained the ingredient list for the cheese pizza:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cCHEESE PIZZA 2019
    INGREDIENTS: CHEESE (LOW MOISTURE MOZZARELLA CHEESE (CULTURED PASTEURIZED MILK, SALT, ENZYMES), CHEDDAR CHEESE (CULTURED PASTEURIZED MILK, SALT, ENZYMES, ANNATTO (COLOR)), PARMESAN CHEESE (CULTURED PASTEURIZED PART SKIM MILK, SALT, ENZYMES), WHEAT FLOUR, WATER, TOMATO PASTE, NONFAT MILK, YEAST, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: VEGETABLE OIL (SOYBEAN AND\/OR CANOLA OIL), SUGAR, PALM OIL, SALT, FERMENTED RYE FLOUR, MALTODEXTRIN, WHEAT GLUTEN, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, FLAVOR (WATER, CONCENTRATED SPONGE EXTRACT), DRIED GARLIC, SPICE, DATEM, DEXTROSE, GUAR GUM, XANTHAN GUM, SOY LECITHIN, ASCORBIC ACID (DOUGH CONDITIONER), NIACIN, POTASSIUM SORBATE (PRESERVATIVE), REDUCED IRON, CITRIC ACID, NATURAL FLAVOR, WHEAT STARCH, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID, FERROUS SULFATE, ENZYMES CONTAINS MILK, SOY AND WHEAT,WHOLE\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    VRG NOTE: \u201cConcentrated sponge extract\u201d is a vegetable- and\nmicrobial-sourced ingredient made of water, wheat flour, and microbes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    From this ingredient statement, we concluded that there were\nno animal fats such as lard (except from dairy) in the sauce or dough.\nL-cysteine was NOT used as a dough conditioner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Because the source of the cheese\nenzymes was not specified, we asked for more information. Kelly soon relayed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cTook a little while but here is the\nmanufacture’s response: \u2018The enzymes in the cheeses come from microbial\nsources.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    At this time, our inquirer reported\nsome other information. She related: \u201cI managed to get a pizza [box] from the\ncashier the other night and read the contact info!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So she wrote directly to the company\non the box. She asked the company:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cMenu\nSolutions<\/a> was listed on the back of this product as the\ncustomer contact website. I am a consumer who has been trying to find out 1) if\nthe cheese on these pizzas has animal rennet; and 2) if the sauce and crust\nhave vegan or vegetarian ingredients (no animal products or ONLY\ndairy\/egg).  Thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    She then shared with us the response\nshe had received. It was from Scot at Schwan\u2019s<\/a> in Minnesota, the apparent\nparent company of Menu Solutions, located in Colorado. (The Menu Solutions\nwebsite redirected to Schwan\u2019s.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \u201cThe cheese enzyme is microbial-sourced. There\nis no egg; however, there is milk in the product. In addition, the product is\nnot certified vegan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Happy to have received a response,\nthe inquirer then asked: \u201cIn the cheese pizza, is there any pork or seafood\nby-products (or any animal by-products other than the dairy)?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Scot replied: \u201cThere is no pork nor\nseafood in the product. There are no animal [ingredients] other than dairy.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When I asked the inquirer what she\nobserved when 7-Eleven staff warmed the pizza, she detailed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cAt 7-11 stores, you can see them\nget the pre-made pizza out…They put it on a sheet of paper and put it into\ntheir high-speed oven. That\u2019s here in Denver…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    She mentioned that there is a \u201chigh-end\u201d 7-Eleven in her city that makes its own crust.\u00a0She stated: \u201cThe one that makes its own is one of 7-Eleven\u2019s new concept stores. They have an actual full kitchen. They even sell \u2018tap\u2019 kombucha.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Interested readers can find out more\nabout 7-Eleven’s concept stores in this article<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Wanting to know more about the\nconcept stores\u2019 ingredients, The Vegetarian Resource Group posed this question\nto Kelly at 7-Eleven: \u201cOne of our members told us that a 7-Eleven in her city\n(Denver) makes its own pizza. How common is this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cShe also said that another store\nuses the food service branch of Menu Solutions whose website redirected to\nSchwan\u2019s based in Minnesota. If true, does Schwan\u2019s supply the entire USA? So,\nthe information you\u2019ve provided about ingredients is true for ALL<\/strong>\n7-Eleven stores (that don\u2019t make their own pizza) in the USA?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Also, what is the protocol for warming\/cooking\nthe pizza? Could it be prepared close to animal foods or on the same surface as\nanimal foods (including eggs)?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Kelly responded to The VRG:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201c1. All pizza is from the same\ndistributor, so yes, [ingredients] would be the same.
    \n2. We cook the pizza in the same oven as the chicken, beef patties.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Wanting more detail on the kitchen\nprotocol, we asked: \u201cDo you sanitize the oven between uses? Do you use a baking\nsheet of some type?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Kelly replied: \u201cThe oven is cleaned\nand sanitized once a day. We use paper and cooking sheets to cook the product.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The VRG then asked \u201cAre the paper\nand cooking sheets changed for each product?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Kelly responded: \u201cThey are supposed\nto change each time.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    VRG Recommendations <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When in doubt about ingredients and\nyou find the staff to be unable to answer your questions, request to see the\nfood packaging. Look for an ingredients label and supplier information. Follow\nup directly with the supplier if store staff cannot help you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To avoid cross contamination with\nanimal foods when dining out, ask for a clean baking sheet for your meal and\nrequest that it be prepared separately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    TO FIND SOME VEGAN PIZZAS
    See:     https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/journal\/vj2018issue1\/2018_issue1_vegan_pizzas.php<\/a>

    TO MAKE YOU OWN VEGAN PIZZA
    See:     https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/journal\/vj2018issue2\/2018_issue2_pizza_creations.php<\/a>

    YOU CAN FIND VEGAN PIZZAS AT MANY AMERICAN AND CANADIAN VEGGIE RESTAURANTS
    See:     https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/restaurant\/index.php<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We appreciate the responses from\n7-11. Not all businesses are as quick to answer.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The contents of this posting, our\nwebsite, and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not\nintended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained\nfrom a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient\ninformation from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a\nstatement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be\nmade. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for\nyou. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For information about other restaurant\nchains, see https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/fastfoodinfo.php<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS The VRG received an email inquiry asking us to look into 7-Eleven pizza ingredients. The reader had been trying to get answers from the chain with no luck. For example, is the crust or red sauce vegan? (EDITORS NOTE: See bottom of this article for vegan pizza ideas. There are so […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15064"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15064\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15066,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15064\/revisions\/15066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}