MPI to meet Hell over pizza
The Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) says it will meet Hell over its ‘‘burger’’ pizza.
Thousands of Kiwis unwittingly sampled Beyond Meat plant-based imitation meat, after Hell quietly added the product to its menu.
The New Zealand-owned chain launched its burger pizza, with ingredients including ‘‘mediumrare burger patty’’.
Some customers were outraged at having been duped. Many were concerned about the potential implications of ingesting Beyond Meat ingredients when they thought they were eating beef.
MPI tweeted that it was aware that consumers had concerns about the burger pizza.
‘‘We’re meeting Hell Pizza to discuss requirements of the Food Act, including the importance of consumers being aware of ingredients so they can make informed decisions including about allergies.’’
It has also been suggested that Hell could be in breach of the Fair Trading Act.
Ben Cumming, general manager of Hell, said on Friday that although customers were told the patties were plant-based only if they asked, nobody had been misled.
While concerns had been raised about the potential for allergic reactions to peas in the patties, Cumming said that wasn’t a common allergy.
‘‘People with serious allergies do ask for that information,’’ he said. ‘‘The people complaining about allergies aren’t people who have eaten it, they’re people saying, ‘What if I had?’’’
On its website, Beyond Meat warns that peas are legumes and people with severe allergies to legumes like peanuts ‘‘should be cautious when introducing pea protein into their diet because of the possibility of a pea allergy’’.
A spokesman for the Commerce Commission said it had received eight complaints about ‘‘burger patties’’ on Hell pizzas.