Are Johnny Rockets fries really vegan?

[Guest guest]

I normally wouldn't post something like this, as it has been discussed a lot recently, but I have to take a kid to lunch today and it would be good to support Johnny Rocket's Boca Burger, so that vegan options stay on the menu.

 

I know it was posted on here a few weeks ago that Johhny Rockets fries are vegan, but I just checked out the ingredients list on their website and it says the following:

 

American FriesPotatoes, partially hydrogenated vegetable shortening (soybean oil and/or canola oil) and/or palm oil and/or beef fat, disodium dihydrogen pyrophosphate (to promote color retention), dextrose.

 

http://www.johnnyrockets.com/themenu/ingredients.php

 

According to the website, they may contain beef fat.

 

Has anyone heard directly from Johnny Rockets that they do NOT use beef fat in the fries at all the locations?

 

Well, I guess I can have the Boca Burger with no fries (and I guess no bun too, since who knows what the sources of those ingredients are too, such as the enzymes).

 

Thanks,

Melissa

[Guest guest]

Melissa wrote: "I have to take a kid to lunch today . . . I guess I can have the Boca Burger with no fries (and I guess no bun too, since who knows what the sources of those ingredients are too" IMHO, making a good-faith, decent effort to give up all foods with animal ingredients -- without obsessing about whether a food might contain a minuscule amount of animal ingredient (the fries) and refusing a food unless you're 100% positive it has no animal ingredient (the bun) -- will do more to help animals in the long run. If you don't eat the fries and especially the bun, you're going to make veganism look pretty miserable to this kid. I suggest just relaxing a bit and relying on the info we received -- from Alex of Peta, I believe -- that the burger (which presumably included the bun) and fries are vegan. If you don't feel comfortable with that, why

don't you go somewhere else where you won't look like your diet leaves you with nothing to eat? Peace, Thea

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[Guest guest]

Thanks for your thoughts, Thea. Yes, I totally agree that making veganism look like it's a life of deprivation is not the best way to help animals. I take efforts a lot of the time to show my non-veg friends and family how easy it to be vegan. Because it really is. I'm glad you brought up that point.

 

I expected I'd get some responses with the viewpoint of not obsessing about every little animal ingredient. But that's just the way I am because it makes me sick, emotionally-speaking, to eat something knowingly with beef fat or other such animal ingredients.

 

However, I take huge efforts to NOT let my obssesiveness come across when dealing with non-veggie people. I asked it here on the list to other veggie folks, just so I knew the facts for myself.

 

 

I thought choosing Johnny Rockets would be fun for this kid, and I wanted to support them for having a vegan option on the menu, as I think we should be supporting efforts of mainstream restaurants to serve veggie options, which does a lot to help animals, since non-veggies may see it on the menu and choose it over a hamburger.

 

On a side note, I actually just had a conversation with this kid who saw me eating my soy yogurt here in the office and he asked me if I was a vegetarian. We had a nice little conversation about being vegetarian and he said he's had the veggie burger wrapped in lettuce at In and Out. So, I said, thanks for the idea and maybe I'll get my veggie burger at Johhny Rockets today wrapped in lettuce. He felt proud of himself for coming up with the idea

 

Melissa

On 4/18/06, Thea Langsam <thea_langsam wrote:

 

 

Melissa wrote: " I have to take a kid to lunch today . . . I guess I can have the Boca Burger with no fries (and I guess no bun too, since who knows what the sources of those ingredients are too "

 

IMHO, making a good-faith, decent effort to give up all foods with animal ingredients -- without obsessing about whether a food might contain a minuscule amount of animal ingredient (the fries) and refusing a food unless you're 100% positive it has no animal ingredient (the bun) -- will do more to help animals in the long run. If you don't eat the fries and especially the bun, you're going to make veganism look pretty miserable to this kid. I suggest just relaxing a bit and relying on the info we received -- from Alex of Peta, I believe -- that the burger (which presumably included the bun) and fries are vegan. If you don't feel comfortable with that, why don't you go somewhere else where you won't look like your diet leaves you with nothing to eat?

 

 

Peace,

Thea

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

The Johnnyrockets.com web site also had a link to request more info. Jeffrey Preston, the Director of Purchasing & Product Development was most prompt and courteous in his replies. It seems that the fries are indeed vegan, as well as the buns. Furhermore, the vegan boca burgers are cooked in a separate part of the grill. The fries are in theory cooked by themselves in 100% vegetable oil (with stipulation given below). Below I have included the complete correspondence so the finer points and distinctions can be made.

 

-------

 

Hello,

 

Your much welcomed introduction of a vegan burger has caused a bit of a stir on the San Francisco vegetarian email news list. At first someone mentioned that the American fries were vegan as well but then someone else linked to your web site and noted that the fries are listed as made with palm oil and/or beef fat. Is there a way to determine which locations provide vegan fries? Also there was some question about whether the buns for the vegan burgers are vegan as well. It is a bit hard to tell from the ingredients list, as some of the ingredients are a bit obscure to the general public. I will appreciate it if you can advise me about the buns and fries so I can report back the the vegetarian list. Thanks again for your efforts to make such products available.

 

Sincerely,David Hurwitz

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Dear David,Thank you for taking the time to contact us; it is always nice to hear from our guests. Our spec hamburger buns should not contain any dairy or other animal-derived ingredients. Our American fries also should not contain ingredients which are of animal origin and are always cooked in 100% vegetable oil. Beef tallow, or flavorings derived from animal sources, are never intentionally added during the manufacturing or cooking process. However you should be aware that, due to the proximity of the manufacturing equipment to sources of animal protein or oil from animal sources there is the slight, though extremely unlikely, possibility that traces of these unwanted products may be accidentally transferred to our American fries during their production. For this reason, and this reason only, we feel compelled to list beef tallow as a possible (however extremely unlikely) ingredient.At Johnny Rockets we strive to meet the needs of all of our guests. Please be aware that we designate a special area of the grill on which to cook only the Boca Burger and we do everything in our power to keep the area free from other materials. We also have special color-coded turners and tongs which help to keep cross-contamination to a minimum. However due to the limited space and tight kitchen layout at Johnny Rockets we cannot guarantee that there will not be unintentional contact with some small amount of material from an item which is of animal in nature. Therefore, and in respect of an individual's religious, ethical, or dietary concerns, we cannot claim anything prepared at Johnny Rockets to be vegan or vegetarian.Thank you aging for taking the time to drop us a note. If you have any additional questions please do not hesitate to contact me directly.Sincerely,JeffJeffrey PrestonDirector of Purchasing & Product DevelopmentThe Johnny Rockets Group, Inc.(949) 643-6116(949) 643-6200 faxjpreston-----------

 

Dear Jeff,Thank you for your prompt and complete answers to my questions. In fact, you even anticipated a few questions I didn't remember to ask about, such as that a special area of the grill is dedicated to cooking the boca burgers. This in information will certainly be appreciated by vegetarians.Thank you for your offer for additional questions. In fact, after I sent the original email a few more did come to mind. First, I noticed that the ingredients of the ketchup included "natural flavoring." Some manufacturers of ketchup include non-vegan ingredients under that heading. Can you clarify on that point? Also, I appreciated you mentioned that the fries are cooked in 100% vegetable oil. It might be a concern with some that non-vegan ingredients such as whey for the onion rings are also cooked in the same oil as the fries. It doesn't appear that any meat is fried in the oil which of course would be a greater concern. Can you comment on the consideration about any other possible non-vegan ingredients that may be fried in the oil as well?Thank you again for making such products available and for your helpfulness in answering such questions.Sincerely,David Hurwitz---------

 

David,Thanks for your prompt follow up. At Johnny Rockets we have two fryers in which to prepare our American fries as well as other fried items (onion rings, chicken tenders, and Rocket Wings). Due to volume and timing requirements one fryer is used almost exclusively for American fries while the other is used for the other items. Unfortunately, due to the high volume and frenetic pace at which a Johnny Rockets sometimes operates, there is no way to state categorically that at no point were the items which contain animal products prepared in the American fry fryer (and vice versa). There is also some likelihood that because of the close proximity of one fryer to another that the oil from one may be inadvertently splashed or otherwise transferred into the other. For these reasons we cannot claim that any fried items (nor any menu items at all) served at Johnny Rockets follow the prescribed rules for any special diet (vegan, kosher, etc.). As for your question about "natural flavoring" in our ketchup I will ask for clarification from the manufacturer.I hope this information is helpful. If you have any additional questions or comments please do not hesitated to let me know.Sincerely,JeffJeffrey PrestonDirector of Purchasing & Product DevelopmentThe Johnny Rockets Group, Inc.(949) 643-6116(949) 643-6200 faxjpreston