I wanted to raise a warning, but also a question for something I've seen happen a couple a times already on food packaging of imported Chinese food products:
- The list of ingredients in the translated version seems vegetarian;
- The list of ingredients in the native version is definitively NOT vegetarian.
Here is the latest example I have in front of me: a soup indented for a Chinese Hot Pot of mushroom flavour (see picture at the end of the post).
Obviously, since China does not add a green "V" on vegetarian foods, one needs to rely on the ingredient list written on the packaging.
Here is the list of ingredients on the label pasted onto the original list of ingredients:
- Water
- salt
- shiitake mushroom
- mushroom extract
- matsutake mushroom
- trehalose
- flavour enhancer: E621
- porcini powder (porcini, salt, flavour enhancers: E621, E635)
- sugar
- flavouring
- thickener: E1442
- yeast extract
- acidity regulator: E500i
- flavour enhancer: E635
- colour: E150a, E160a.
While here is the list of actual list of ingredients in Chinese under the translation label (translation is mine):
- 南珍鲜菌菇风味汤底: Nanzhen Fresh Mushroom Flavoured Soup Base
- 配料表: Ingredients
- 食用鸡油(食用鸡油、特丁基对苯二酚): chicken oil (chicken oil, TBHQ)
- 水: water
- 食用盐: salt
- 香菇: shiitake mushroom
- 鸡肉风味调味料 (含羟丙基二淀粉磷酸酯、5'-肌苷酸二钠、呈味核苷酸二钠、羧甲基纤维素钠、D-㫒抗圷血酸钠、黄原㬵,脱氢乙酸钠): chicken flavour seasoning (contains E1442, E631, E635, Sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, xanthan gum, Sodium dehydroacetate)
- 姬松茸(≥3.9%): Agaricus subrufescens (≥3.9%)
- 海藻糖: trehalose
- 蘑菇浓缩液: concentrated mushroom
- 味精: E621
- 黑牛肝菌粉 (黑牛肝菌, 食用盐, 味精、呈味核苷酸二钠)(≥1.8%): black boletus powder (black boletus, salt, E621, E635) (≥1.8%)
- 牛骨汤调味料(牛骨、食用盐、味精): beef bone broth (beef bone, salt, E621)
- 鸡骨原汤(鸡骨, 水、食用盐): chicken bone broth (chicken bone, water, salt)
- 鸡肉粉(鸡胸肉、食用鸡油、麦芽糊精、食用盐、味精、单,双甘油脂肪酸酯、蔗糖脂肪酸酯, 柠檬酸): chicken powder (chicken breast, chicken oil, maltodextrin, salt, E621, diglyceride fatty acid ester, sucrose fatty acid ester, citric acid)
- 5'-肌苷酸二钠: E631
- 白砂糖: white sugar
- 食用香精香料: flavouring
- 羟丙基二淀粉磷酸酯: E1442
- 酵母抽提物: yeast extract
- 碳酸氢钠: sodium bicarbonate
- 呈味核苷酸二钠: E635
- 焦糖色: caramel colour
- ß-胡萝卜素: beta-carotene (colour)
- 脱氢乙酸钠: Sodium dehydroacetate
This is clearly not vegetarian, while it seems to be in the translated version (except for the very vague flavouring).
The biggest question is: Why is the translation so widely different, and why is such a difference even possible?
