Quorn Meat Substitute Faces Lawsuit

by Kristen Seymour (Subscribe to Kristen Seymour's posts)
Sep 18th 2009 2:00PM

Photo: Quron.us

Whether you're a full-fledged vegetarian or just choose to observe Meatless Mondays, chances are good you've indulged in some sort of meat substitute before. Well, some frightening news has arisen regarding one brand-name meat substitute: Quorn. A class action lawsuit has been brought against the brand because it makes a significant portion of consumers ill; some, violently ill.

According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, studies as early as 1977 showed adverse reactions, including nausea and vomiting, in about 10 percent of subjects who ate Quorn. A control group then, and another study in more recent years, found that number to be closer to 5 percent, but, CSPI says that's "still a higher percentage of people than that of those who reported allergies to shellfish, milk, peanuts or other common food allergens."

The product, which Quorn Foods markets as being related to mushrooms, is based on a fungus called Fusarium venenatum (venenatum is Latin for venomous). However, while the mushroom relation is true because they are both fungi, according to CSPI, the association is "as misleading as claiming that humans are related to jellyfish since they're both animals."

CSPI launched a website in 2002 called quorncomplaints.org, and over 1,400 British and American consumers have left criticisms.

The issue isn't so much that the product has been shown to cause allergic reactions -- it's that no warning is given on the package despite that knowledge that has CSPI up in arms. Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is aware of the frequency of reactions, it still says the main Quorn ingredient is "generally recognized as safe." Well, if you're "generally" OK with a 5 percent chance of nausea or vomiting, that sounds about right.

This isn't the first time CSPI's litigation department has taken on a well-known food brand for what they perceive to be inaccurate labeling. They've sued and worked with brands including Anheuser Busch, Frito-Lay, Kellogg, KFC, Kraft and Sara Lee to improve labeling, marketing and product formulation.

Don't let this scare you away from a vegetarian diet, though -- the ADA says going veg is good for you!

Have you ever eaten Quorn products? Tell us about it in the comments!

Comments (31)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

fortunesque 9-19-2009 @ 10:31PM

The same thing can be said about MSG and the multitude of other names it goes by.

Just saying.

EAL 9-20-2009 @ 3:42AM

It goes to show ya that you should LEARN how to cook your own food.

Irishtempah 9-21-2009 @ 8:12AM

I bought Quorn products recently, not knowing about the fungus in them. Since I started eating them, I have been getting "hives" and did not know why. I'm allergic to mold and mildew.."fungus" wish I had known before I spent the money!!

Jo 9-21-2009 @ 8:38AM

Probably the vote to have ALL ingredients on the package is because the people who are reading this are people who have a tendency to be concerned with ingredients anyway...for whatever reason . My own child is HIGHLY allergic to most molds. One is aspergillus. Common. And supposedly what gives soy sauce it's unique taste. We LOVE it. But now she carries an Epi-Pen (has never had to use it). Who would have known they put a mold in for flavoring? For nearly all of us, and for many reasons...the simpler the better for you. Fresh, fewer ingredients, less processing = "healthy".

Jenny 9-20-2009 @ 10:21AM

Sad but true that the labeling laws do not protect the people but the manufacturers. Crazy like the FDA and CDC not requiring "Milk" to labeled as an ingredient in the DTAP vaccine. Yet they wonder why people and young children who are allergic to milk are dying or developing autoimmune diseases. JUST label the ingredients in plain English!

jay 9-19-2009 @ 11:04PM

These are the stories we like to read. Now I won't buy this el cheeso brand.

Fungicide 9-19-2009 @ 11:20PM

Spammers = FUNGUS

Lakes 9-19-2009 @ 11:54PM

I agree Jenny put the ingredients on labels in plain english. And Cory your right also this new substitutes for fast foods can't be good for you. Then neither can the store bought stuff with all their perservitives. Example years ago my mom brought me over a cake she baked, I also had one that I had just bought from a store. In a few days my moms cake without perservitives was going moldy but my store bought cake was good for days more.

Lakes 9-19-2009 @ 11:55PM

Sorry a PS Also its a known fact by the medical society that look what these perservitives and additives are doing to our kids. Its well known that there developing in every way physically from all these drugs being feed the animals were eating, their even getting bigger feet. Plus it is the one main reason why so many diseases like cancer are plagueing us.

Alia 9-21-2009 @ 8:35AM

It also causes people to develop lousy spelling skills!

Pam 9-20-2009 @ 12:42AM

According to a scientific article on Quorn posted in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Volume 111, Issue 5, Pages 1106-1110, "Quorn is the brand name for a line of foods made with so-called “mycoprotein,” which springs from the mold Fusarium venenatum."

So Quorn is made with mold, not fungus, and the article says that it can cause reactions in people with mold allergies.

Anita 9-20-2009 @ 12:56AM

I've been using Quorn for quite awhile and I love it. I've had no adverse reactions. I do believe that it should be noted that some people do. Problem, is who are the some people. To me its great stuff:)

karma 9-21-2009 @ 6:41AM

We buy Quorn products monthly. No one in our family has had adverse reactions. It is a great product for vegetarians.

By the way, before you panic, you should find out what is in the other stuff you eat all the time. There is lots out there scarier than an edible fungus.

Not to mention the number of humans who smoke, eat to obesity, live off fast food lunches five days a week, get drunk every weekend, or have unprotected sex with strangers.....well, good grief....we wouldn't want any risky behavior, eh?

BeansonToast 9-20-2009 @ 12:34PM

As for accurate labeling, the word "mycoprotein" is enough to clue in people who do their homework. I've eaten Quorn for years and love it. Why aren't all the pesticides listed when you buy produce, and the antibiotics and hormones that go in our meat and our dairy cows? If Quorn should be sued, so should these other producers for not giving us the full story.

erin 9-20-2009 @ 2:26AM

it is imperative for companies to list every ingredient that goes into a product...my husband is highly allergic to mushroom, as in his throat closes up and he has to carry an epi pin...its not just mushrooms though, it may not be as severe, but he is also allergic to blue cheese, aged meats, truffles or truffle oil, and different dyes in food.

everything needs to be clearly stated in packaging. PERIOD! it can KILL!

Alia 9-21-2009 @ 8:39AM

If someone has such severe allergies they should cook all their own food from scratch. Jeez, common sense.

Jennifer 9-20-2009 @ 2:45AM

The first ingrediant on a Quorn box is mycoprotein. There's an even bigger box next to the list of ingrediants explaining what mycoprotein is. It comes right out and tells you that it's a fungus!

mike brennan 9-23-2009 @ 10:51PM

I'm a vegetarian and i eat these all the time. Quorn rocks and the closest thing to chicken i have found. I know that this brand stole a lot of business from the other meat substitute brands and they reacted but smearing them and trying to scare people about eating it. It dose not make me sick at all. People have allergies to things. Oh well. Research this subject. The man that leading the crusade against Quorn worked for Morning Star brand.

mike brennan 9-20-2009 @ 10:28AM

Sheeple! You really read one thing and it sways your opinion?

kermo 9-20-2009 @ 4:45AM

I tried the al-Quida brand meat sub, and with in a hour poooped my guts out . by the way why would a vegitarian buy or want food that tastes, smells and feels like meat? why not go ahead and eat the real meat. oh then you cant have your little veggie clique and tell hou your so much more better than any one else . oh and vegans ,,,you have to have your own special name and every thing. that is the political correctness that is destroying our nation. im sick of it ( meat real meat is food has been since creation of man). I would eat a dead cow fetus if its cooked right yum .