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frequently asked questions

What follows is a compendium of frequently asked questions about Tofutti products that have been compiled over the years.

These questions cover a range of topics about our products, and we have tried to arrange them by the type of question, so that there is some sort of order in the way they are listed. They are by no means a complete list of all questions about our products, only those that have been asked often enough over a period of time that they deserve to be shown here.

Please feel free to contact us at any time at 0208 861 4443, or email us at info@trianobrands.co.uk, should you have a question that is not listed here. We have answered these questions to the best of our ability, even though in some cases the answers we give are not to the liking of the people asking them. Please be aware that in reading these questions and answers, typographical mistakes can occur, and in between updates to these questions and our web site, things could change which might alter our responses to some of these questions. Hopefully, our responses to questions here will satisfy your inquiries, so you should certainly read what is here first. However, if there is ever any doubt about what the answer means, or if it appears there is a typographical error, please feel free to contact us at the phone number or email address above.

This is certainly true if your question involves the use of allergens.

In that case we strongly urge you to contact us directly. Typically, questions involving the use of allergens require an explanation that is far too involved to be explained here. In that case it is better to talk to someone in our customer service department. Our customer service representatives are always glad to be of service, so never hesitate to call if in doubt.

And now, feel free to browse our frequently asked Tofutti questions.

1. Why should I buy Tofutti products?

2. Recently, I have been hearing and reading about the benefits of soy. What are they?

3. Do any Tofutti products contain dairy?

4. I know all Tofutti products are Kosher Parve, which means that they contain no dairy. However, I was told that some of your products are run on equipment that also runs dairy products. If this is so, how are your products dairy free?

5. I notice you use lactic acid in some of your products, like your Better Than Cream Cheese. I thought lactic acid is dairy. If it is, how can you say you are dairy free?

6. Are all Tofutti products vegan?

7. Does Tofutti ever use meat derivatives in its products?

8. What is the source of your mono and diglycerides? Why do you use them?

9. Do Tofutti products contain eggs or egg whites?

10. What type of lecithin does Tofutti use? It’s not from animals, is it?

11. What is the source of your maltodextrin?

12. Where does your modified food starch come from?

13. I notice that on many of your frozen dessert products you use cocoa butter. If you are supposed to be dairy free, how come you use butter?

14. Is there alcohol in the chocolate liquor used in some of your frozen deserts?

15. Is your caramel color and flavor dairy free?

16. Does Tofutti use non-GMO soy protein?

17. What are the potassium and phosphorus levels of Tofutti products?

18. How come Tofutti products contain very little calcium? Does the company have any plans to introduce calcium enriched products?

19. I see that some of your products use adipic acid. What is it?

20. Sometimes I notice that the ice cream products look and taste icy. What does this mean?

21. I know that the Better Than Cream Cheese and Sour Supreme have a very long shelf life unopened. However, once opened, how long will the Better Than Cream Cheese and Sour Supreme last?

22. On occasion, I buy Better Than Cream Cheese and the product does not look right and tastes grainy. What happened?

1. Why should I buy Tofutti products?

First, let’s discuss why you need a soy-based, nondairy food product. Here are some of the more important reasons why.

General

Health food category is growing by double digit percentages each year.
Dairy free and soy-based foods are part of that category, and therefore appeal to a large and growing consumer audience.
Tofutti soy-based, dairy free foods are unique, value added, upscale specialty foods.
Tofutti is an excellent tasting, premium, one-of-a kind healthful alternative category product.

Health

Dairy Free-Lactose Intolerance

Over 70 million Americans-one out of five are lactose intolerant, ranging from mild symptoms to life threatening allergy.
Target ethnic groups-African and Asian Americans, Hispanics, and Jews.
Lactose intolerance tends to increase with age, affecting the fastest growing segment of our society.
Certain medical conditions, such as asthma, kidney dysfunction, and autism require dairy free diets.

Cholesterol Free-Cardiovascular Disease

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in America.
Over 50% of all adult Americans have cholesterol levels considered too high by the American Heart Association.
One in six adults in the U.S. already suffer from some form of cardiovascular disease.
Reducing cholesterol in one’s diet reduces the chance of cardiovascular disease.

Soy Based-Alleviates

Other Medical Conditions

Tofutti products are rich in soy protein.
Diets rich in soy have been shown by medical studies to lessen the occurrence or alleviate the symptoms of osteoporosis, menopause, and certain types of cancers.
Recent FDA approval of health claims for soy-based products.
Consumer concerns over certain diseases associated with dairy.

Life Style

Kosher Parve-Religious Dietary Laws

Certain ethnic and religious groups, such as Jews, Muslims, and Seventh Day Adventists observe the Kosher dietary laws.
Parve is the highest form of Kosher.
Kosher indicates to most consumers a healthier, better quality product.

No Animal Products-Vegetarians or Veganism

Those individuals who observe a vegetarian diet has been increasing dramatically every year.
Because of concern over ethical or dietary issues, this consumer group stays away from dairy products.
Vegetarians are a highly organized and vocal consumer group.

In conclusion, why Tofutti?

Product quality and taste
Quality control
Product durability
Product innovation
Company stability
Brand name recognition
Category leader

2. Recently, I have been hearing and reading about the benefits of soy. What are they?

Today there is an increasing amount of information being revealed about the health benefits of soy and soy foods. Soy protein is known to lower blood cholesterol and reduce the rates of coronary heart disease, osteoporosis, cancer – breast, colon, and prostate – and fewer menopausal symptoms. Several components of soybeans, including protein, fiber, calcium, essential fatty acids, and isoflavones, offer the potential to promote health and prevent diseases. Genistein, an isoflavone found in high concentrations in soy foods, is thought to play a key role in many of the potential health benefits. The daily recommending dose of isoflavones (the active ingredient in soy) is 40 milligrams. This equals 3/4 cup tofu or 11/2 cups of soy milk.

3. Do any Tofutti products contain dairy?

All of our products are certified Kosher Parve, which means that none of our products ever contain any dairy whatsoever. This means no milk byproducts either, such as casein, whey, or skim milk powder. In order to make certain that there is no dairy in a product, always look for a Kosher Parve symbol. That symbol certifies that the product is completely dairy/casein free.

Although we would wish it otherwise, the overall demand for totally dairy free products is not large enough to justify setting up complete production lines for dairy free products only. Most plants we use for manufacturing our products mainly produce dairy items. This is true for all companies who sell dairy free products, no matter who they are. In addition to the normal plant sterilization, cleaning, and testing procedures, we employ a kosher supervisory service, the Kof-K, to supervise the manufacturing of our products to ensure that they are completely dairy-free every time. The methodology and techniques they use to clean the equipment and supervise the production is the process called kosherization. Kosher Parve means that there are no milk (or meat) derivatives in our products. It also means that the equipment used to produce Tofutti is either dedicated to non-dairy products or has gone through the rigorous sanitation and cleaning requirements of kosherizaton. In the typical plant, the equipment is washed and sanitized with a caustic rinse and an acid rinse. The caustic rinse is done with water at boiling temperature (212 degrees Fahrenheit). This is followed by a boil-out with pure water. There are several other components to the sanitation, but they are not listed as they do not affect the kosher status. A rabbinical supervisor is present to independently verify that these procedures are being adhered to and to review logbooks and digital records to verify that these procedures are followed.

If you feel that the preceding information raises your concerns about the safety of our products regarding dairy contamination, please do not use our products. Safety of our consumers is always our number one priority. For further information about kosher, please refer to our previous discussion on the subject.

5. I notice you use lactic acid in some of your products, like your Better Than Cream Cheese. I thought lactic acid is dairy. If it is, how can you say you are dairy free?

The lactic acid we use is of vegetable origin, not dairy. It is produced from microbial fermentation of certain vegetables and other ingredients. It simply simulates the functionality of regular lactic acid. We always use “veg” or “vegetable” before the words lactic acid to let consumers know that is where the ingredient comes from.

6. Are all Tofutti products vegan?

No, not all of our products are totally vegan. Although all of our frozen dessert and cheese (except smoked salmon Better Than Cream Cheese) products are completely vegan, all of our frozen food entrees (except our Pizza Pizzaz) and all four of our cookies do contain egg whites. Of course, every product that uses egg whites will have it clearly listed in the ingredients. We never use whole eggs, as we are always cholesterol free.

7. Does Tofutti ever use meat derivatives in its products?

No, never. Our products could not be kosher Parve if we did.

8. What is the source of your mono and diglycerides? Why do you use them?

The mono and diglycerides we use comes from vegetables, never from animals. Mono and diglycerides are used as a carrier in some of the ingredients that we use in our products. This is true of virtually all other similar products that use gums and stabilizers as we do. The amount in the finished product is miniscule and we never directly add any into our product.

9. Do Tofutti products contain eggs or egg whites?

None of our nondairy frozen desserts or cheese products contain eggs or egg whites. In our cookies and some of our frozen food entree products, especially those with a pastry or pasta wrap, we do use egg whites. We never use whole eggs since all of our products are cholesterol free. Please see “Are all Tofutti products vegan?”

10. What type of lecithin does Tofutti use? It’s not from animals, is it?

All lecithin used in our products is derived from soy. We could not be kosher parve if it came from animals. If you see a kosher parve symbol, the lecithin used in the product will always be from a vegetable, typically soy. If you do not see that symbol, it is always wise to ask, just to be sure.

11. What is the source of your maltodextrin?

The maltodextrin we use comes from corn. It is not from wheat.

12. Where does your modified food starch come from?

It comes from corn.

13. I notice that on many of your frozen dessert products you use cocoa butter. If you are supposed to be dairy free, how come you use butter?

Unfortunately, when people create ingredients and food products the names they give them sometimes does not reflect what they really are. Cocoa butter refers to the fat from the cocoa bean. The word butter in this case has nothing to do with dairy.

14. Is there alcohol in the chocolate liquor used in some of your frozen deserts?

Once again as with cocoa butter, you have a similar situation with chocolate liquor, which is nothing more than the combination of cocoa butter and cocoa powder. There is no alcohol in chocolate liquor.

15. Is your caramel color and flavor dairy free?

Yes, neither has any dairy in them.

16. Does Tofutti use non-GMO soy protein?

All of our products use non-GMO soy protein. In addition, if available, we use other non-GMO ingredients, such as our tofu powder and maltodextrin.

17. What are the potassium and phosphorus levels of Tofutti products?

This is a common question for people with kidney dysfunction, since both potassium and phosphorus are known to aggravate kidney disorders. Due to the fact our products are totally dairy free, most are usually not a significant source of potassium and phosphorus. On some of our newer products we do declare potassium and phosphorus values, although we are not required to do so. Typically, our packaging will state, "Not a significant source of Vitamins A, C, iron, calcium, potassium, or phosphorus." "Not significant" is typically defined as less than 2% of the daily requirements. In most of our products, potassium and phosphorus are usually just several milligrams per serving, with the potassium level slightly higher than the phosphorus level. Although most medical professionals recommend our products for their dialysis patients, we advise them that the salt content can vary from product to product, and in some cases can be fairly substantial. Of course, the actual sodium value for each product is always listed on the package. As with any medical condition, please check with a medical professional before using our products.

18. How come Tofutti products contain very little calcium? Does the company have any plans to introduce calcium enriched products?

Because they never contain dairy ingredients, Tofutti products are never a significant source of calcium. We currently have no plans to introduce any products with enriched calcium at this time. We are currently concentrating on addressing more frequently requested health related issues that consumers contact us with. Additionally, many people use our products because they

cannot have calcium in their diets, specifically individuals with kidney or urinary tract conditions. A final factor is that adding a mineral to a product that is not naturally in the product typically creates flavor and taste issues. Such is the case with calcium. If it is necessary for you to have calcium in your diet, please consider using calcium supplements.

19. I see that some of your products use adipic acid. What is it?

Adipic acid is a crystalline, white powder that exhibits typical carboxylic acid chemistry suitable for a wide variety of applications. It is used primarily in food to enhance taste and flavor.

20. Sometimes I notice that the ice cream products look and taste icy. What does this mean?

The problem you describe, which can occur with any ice cream product, indicates that the product was thawed and then refrozen. This means that there was a problem maintaining the product’s temperature during storage and/or transportation. It is possible that the truck carrying our product to

the store or the store itself did not maintain the proper temperature to keep the product frozen. Also, if too much time elapsed between the unloading and movement of the product from the truck to the store, the product could have slightly thawed. Once it starts thawing, the product liquefies and when it refreezes, the liquid portion crystallizes. We suggest you talk to the manager at the store where you purchase our product and tell him/her about the situation. He/she will be able to give you more information regarding the handling procedure of the product.

21. I know that the Better Than Cream Cheese and Sour Supreme have a very long shelf life unopened. However, once opened, how long will the Better Than Cream Cheese and Sour Supreme last?

How long our dairy free cheese products last after they have been opened depends on a number of factors. Such factors would be how long they may have been left out of the refrigerator, how many times someone put a utensil in them, was the utensil contaminated (i.e., did someone lick the spoon or knife), how many times the product was reused, etc. Normally, depending on the circumstances and if not too badly abused, the product should still last for many weeks if not a month or two after first opening. You just have to monitor it like you would any other refrigerated perishable product and be guided by your own personal observations and caution.

22. On occasion, I buy Better Than Cream Cheese and the product does not look right and tastes grainy. What happened?

This usually means that the Better Than Cream Cheese was frozen and then thawed sometime during shipping and storage. Once it is frozen, it cannot be brought back to its original form. Although you can use regular cream cheese as an ingredient in a product and then freeze that product, you cannot freeze any cream cheese by itself. The same is true of our Better Than Cream Cheese.