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Vegetarian Product Approval Procedures

  1. The organisation/company submits to The NZ Vegetarian Society Inc the completed application to join the Product Acceptance Programme plus the requisite number of completed product Compliance Assurance forms.
  2. The NZ Vegetarian Society processes the application. This may involve analysing the product and/or a visit to the manufacturing facility. The organisation/company will then be requested to complete a contract and remit with it the 1st year Corporate Joining Membership fee and 1st year "Approved" trademark Licensing Fee.
  3. The NZ Vegetarian Society responds to the receipt of these items by sending a formal letter of acceptance into the Product Acceptance Programme plus "Approved" trademark bromides.
  4. All applications of the "Approved" trademark to product labels, advertising and promotional material are first ratified by The NZ Vegetarian Society.
  5. Ongoing contact between The NZ Vegetarian Society Inc. and clients is established on an individual basis.

 "Approved" Trademark — Guidelines for Use

  1. The "Approved" trademark must always be reproduced in a single colour.
  2. The "Approved" trademark may only be used in relation to products accepted into the Product Acceptance Programme. No association with any other products is permissible either directly or by implication.
  3. All applications of the "Approved" trademark must first be ratified by The NZ Vegetarian Society.

Guidelines for use of the trademark

The "Approved" trademark cannot be used on any products containing the following:

  1. Animal flesh (meat, fowl, fish or shellfish).
  2. Meat, fish or bone stock (in soups, sauces or other dishes).
  3. Animal fats (suet, lard, dripping) or ordinary white cooking fats or margarine containing fish oil or ingredients derived from slaughterhouse by-products, in pastry, used in frying, for greasing tins or other cooking.
  4. Gelatine, aspic, gelatine-based block or jelly crystals for glazing, moulding or other cooking. Agar-Agar is an acceptable alternative.
  5. Products with ingredients derived from slaughterhouse by-products.
  6. Battery or intensively produced eggs.
  7. Royal jelly.
  8. Any products or ingredient that have/has been tested on animals since 1986.
  9. Any products which have been genetically modified.
Listed below are items which frequently need further clarification :

ALCOHOL: Some manufacturers of beers, wine and spirits use unsuitable clarifying agents such as gelatine, egg white (normally battery), isinglass (swim bladders of sturgeon fish), or chitiri (crushed lobster or crab shells). These are not acceptable. Please check with the supplier.

BUTTER: Butter made from milk fat is acceptable.

CHEESE: Cheese made from animal rennet (an enzyme extracted from the stomachs of slaughtered calves) is not acceptable. Cheese produced with enzymes from plants or micro-organisms is acceptable (i.e. microbial rennet or vegetable rennilaise)

EGGS: Eggs must be free range and the name and address of the free-range supplier must be submitted with application.

FATS AND OILS: Vegetable oil, butter or other solid vegetable fat is acceptable. Tallow, lard, suet or fish oils are not acceptable.

FRUIT JUICES: Juices may have been clarified using gelatine which is not acceptable. Please check with the supplier.

GRAVIES AND STOCK: No cubes or powders containing meat, poultry or fish extract.

HONEY: Although Royal Jelly is not vegetarian, honey is acceptable.

MARGARINE: Margarine might contain whey* (a by-product of the cheese making process), E471 (which may be derived from fish oil or animal fat), vitamins A and E (which may be stabilised with gelatine) or vitamin D (which may come from the lanolin of slaughtered sheep). Only margarine with ingredients from vegetable sources are acceptable.

MILK: Milk and cream are acceptable.

*WHEY: Acid protein whey is acceptable. Whey is not acceptable when animal derived rennet has been used in the cheese making process.

WORCESTER SAUCE: This often contains anchovies. Check and advise source.

 

 

Production Processes

 

If your company uses the same production line for vegetarian and non-vegetarian products, thorough cleaning and testing must be carried out before vegetarian production commences.

You must ensure that cross-contamination does not occur between vegetarian and non-vegetarian products during production.

All associated machinery, equipment, utensils, surfaces, gloves, etc. must be free from any non-0vegetarian contamination before vegetarian products are touched, prepared, produced or packaged. Strict procedures must be established and adhered to, to ensure production and packaging errors do not occur.

The trademark may only be used in relation to products accepted into the Product Acceptance Programme. No association with any other products is permissible either directly or by implication.

All applications of the trademark must first be ratified by the NZ Vegetarian Society and approval given before the trademark can be used on any product.