Rice Dream Rice Milk Contains Unwanted Chemicals
Posted by admin on August 13th, 2007 at 08:00pm
As vegans, we turn to the grain, rice, for our milk. Nothing is so delicious as a bowl of homemade granola, topped with fresh blueberries and creamy rice milk. We’ve been buying Imagine’s Vanilla Rice Milk for years. It’s tasty, organic and fairly inexpensive. We’ve always been fans…until last week when we realized something unsettling about this product.
Rice Dream Vanilla Rice Milk Contains An Ingredient Called Natural Flavor
The objective of this article is to warn you not to trust the term natural when you see natural flavor on a food label, and to urge you to tell the Imagine Foods company that we don’t want mystery chemicals in our foods.
Natural Flavors and Artificial Flavors are basically the same, and are chemical additives
Don’t let the word ‘natural’ fool you. It’s a marketing ploy being used to allay the suspicions of conscientious consumers who are trying to choose foods wisely. It’s a term that food producers are permitted to use instead of listing the actual ingredients in a product. It shouldn’t be legal to withhold ingredients from the public, and it shouldn’t be legal to call a product that contains a chemical additive ‘natural’.
The world’s giant producer of both ‘natural’ and ‘artificial’ chemical flavors is International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF). Located off the New Jersey Turnpike, their lab workers concoct the chemicals that give smell or taste to floor polish, detergent, deoderant…and food. These chemical potions are then purchased by food producers who add them to their products. When marketing to the uncaring portion of the public that is currently subsisting on Kool-Aid and TV Dinners, food producers use ‘artificial’ flavor. When marketing to health conscious, green living types, food producers like Imagine Foods use ‘natural’ flavor to make us believe this mystery ingredient is perfectly innocuous. Don’t be fooled by this clever marketing trick!
The only difference between an artificial and a natural flavor is that the artificial flavor never came from a food in the first place, but once upon a time, the natural flavor did. For example, the natural flavor for banana was derived by distilling a chemical called amyl acetate from the banana, and then copying its properties. Artificial banana flavor is made out of vingear, amyl alchohol and sulfuric acid. Both routes may produce a banana-like taste and smell, but neither route is derived from putting an actual banana in the end product. It’s all achieved by totally unnatural processes being conducted in giant factories by people in lab coats. It’s not healthy, wholesome or necessary…and it’s sure not natural!
Food tastes good when you use actual, real ingredients. Whole foods don’t need additives to taste perfect, just as they are. When a company is adding chemical flavorings to their products, they are either trying to take financial shortcuts or are covering up a really bad taste. Remember…their goal is to sell, and they are quite willing to make a fool of you and your tastebuds to do so.
Why is Imagine Foods Company Using a Mystery Ingredient in their Rice Milk?
I wish I could give you their official answer on this, but like so many companies, they don’t respond to questions about ‘natural flavors’. They don’t want to try to explain themselves, so it was necessary for us to do some sleuthing by ourselves. If a representative from Imagine Foods reads this and would like to comment here at Tangergreen, we’d all be eager to hear what you’ve got to say, and it would certainly be the smart thing to do in terms of your customer relations.
We went to the local market and checked out 4 types of Rice Dream Rice Milk - Vanilla, Vanilla Enriched, Original and Orignal Enriched. Bingo! It’s the Vanilla-flavored Rice Milk that contains the suspicious ‘natural flavor’.
Our guess is that Imagine Foods doesn’t want to spend the money to put enough real vanilla in their milk to make it taste like vanilla to you. Vanilla is a somewhat expensive extract, so we would guess that Imagine Foods is cutting corners by putting some minute amount of actual vanilla in this product and making up the difference by adding chemicals that fool customers into thinking they are tasting actual vanilla. What an unfortunate choice for a company to make when the business’ reputation hinges on selling to a demographic with above-average concern over what they put in their bodies.
Trying to Pull The Wool Over Green Consumers Eyes Is a Bad Marketing Strategy
Spending just two minutes in the grocery store, this green consumer was able to make an educated guess about the stingy spending habits of Imagine Foods who are more concerned about their profit margin than they are about delivering an honest, truly natural product to their customer. My esteem for this once-trusted company went down many notches realizing this. And now, here I am, blabbing about it to anyone who cares to research this company via the Internet.
Tangergreen’s duty is to do the blabbing, because our goal is to motivate companies trading on the ‘natural’ label to cut out this kind of garbage. When I want an apple, I don’t want a potato with apple flavoring that will sort of fool me into thinking I’m eating an apple. I want an apple, plain and simple. When I see a company proclaiming themselves to be natural, I want whole foods to make up ALL the ingredients in their products. I don’t want mystery additives being sold to me under lying names. I don’t care if the FDA permits them to do this. I want natural foods corporations to agree with me that the FDA’s standards are laughable and that natural foods companies should go miles beyond the bare requirements to provide something nutritious and unadulterated to their customers. If Mama didn’t use it in her kitchen, I don’t want it in my food.
The good Lord only knows what the actual health toll is from consuming flavor and scent chemicals. Living in a world of autoimmune diseases and cancers, I am suspicious of putting anything that came out of a labratory into my body, and I am very suspicious of any company that tries to pull the wool over its consumers’ eyes with underhanded labeling tricks. If Imagine Foods is willing to stoop so low, what else might they be doing?
My Request of Imagine Foods
Spend the money to buy real vanilla and get this mystery junk out of your products. We don’t want it. We really don’t want it.
What You Can Do
To take action on this, phone Imagine Foods, owned by the Hain Celestial Group, at 1-800-434-4246. If enough people call and say they don’t want undisclosed ingredients and chemicals in their food, Hain Celestial Group will be struck with a decent fear of losing market share unless they give us what we’re asking for. Remember, the customer is always right.
To continue enjoying rice milk, you have a few options. Find another brand that doesn’t list ‘natural ingredients’ on their label. If anyone would like to suggest a good alternative, please leave a comment here for us to check out. Or, if Imagine Rice Dream Rice Milk is the only brand available where you live, buy the Original or Original Enriched and a bottle of organic vanilla extract. Just a drop of real, pure vanilla will give genuine vanilla flavor to a whole carton of plain rice milk.
Summing Up
If this was the Pepsi corporation pulling a stunt like this, I really wouldn’t care. Their products are concoctions of nothing but chemicals and God help anyone consuming them. But it really gets my goat when I see the very businesses that claim to provide an alterative being no better than their evil corporate counterparts.
The FDA will not set decent standards to protect us. Companies like Imagine Foods will attempt to squeak by, taking any short cut they can on the road to profit rather than setting admirable, new high standards. So, setting the standards for what is acceptable in the food we eat is left up to us, the consumers. Our voices and our dollars are what determines who gets to stay in business and what goes on our tables. Please, harness this power and call Imagine Foods today.
—————–
Update: August 24, 2007
I finally heard back from the Hain Celestial Group, maker of Rice Dream Products. Their reply, unfortunately, was guarded and non-transparent, as well as not answering my question:
Thank you for taking the time to contact us regarding our Vanilla Rice Dream Beverage. We apologize for the delay in our reply and appreciate your patience. We strive to maintain the highest quality products and we appreciate your patronage.
Natural is used as a general term to encompass both natural flavors that are both vegan and non-vegan. It’s used to convey that the flavor or ingredient doesn’t have anything artificial in it. Artificial meaning any chemically synthesized ingredients. The term natural flavor or natual flavoring means any ingredient that is from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, a vegetable, edible yeast, herb, bark, root, leaf, meat or poultry products whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional. The Hain Celestial Group does not add mono-sodium glutamate (MSG) to any of our natural flavors. If you have allergies or sensitivities to certain ingredients, we recommend you avoid all products with added flavorings.
As one of our valued customers, your satisfaction is very important to us and we will share your comments with our Leadership Team. If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us at 1-800-434-4246, Monday through Friday from 7AM - 5PM Mountain Time.
Sincerely,
Lynda
Consumer Relations Representative
From this response, I would imagine the Hain Celestial Group gets a lot of inquiries about MSG, but this was not what my specific question was about. I asked to be told what chemicals are being added to the Vanilla Rice Dream Rice Milk, not whether this product contains MSG. As you can see from the above, it is the Hain Celestial Group’s policy not to be honest about the actual ingredients in their product.
This is unacceptable for a company billing their products as natural. If it’s natural, tell me what it is!
The only advice we are being given is that if you have ‘allergies’, you shouldn’t drink their Vanilla Rice Milk. It also leaves open the question as to whether non-vegan ingredients are being put into Vanilla Rice Milk.
Companies like Hain Celestial are being no better than their corporate counterparts who manufacture TV Dinners and Jell-O and don’t ever disclose to the public what they are really being fed. What is there to hide? Obviously, something.
Under Food Alert
36 Comments for Rice Dream Rice Milk Contains Unwanted Chemicals
1. Judy | December 9th, 2007 at 10:45 am
How are we to know what we’re getting when “meat and poultry” (there’s a difference??) can be used as “natural flavoring”? The idea that I might be eating or drinking an additive that came from an animal is disgusting and wrong!
I think additives are problematic to begin with. As soon as we see that word, get ready to run to another product.
2. admin | December 9th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
Dear Judy,
Yes, for vegans and vegetarians, artificial and natural flavors have the added danger that you mention - they may well be derived from animals sources. It simply should not be legal to market products of any kind without disclosing their ingredients. This ought to be basic law.
Fortunately, as you say, we can spend our money elsewhere when we determine that a company like Imagine foods is dishonest. It’s our most powerful option while legislation fails to protect us.
Thank you, so much, for taking the time to comment here!
3. » Pickles: Whole Fo&hellip | December 9th, 2007 at 3:18 pm
[…] Read the ingredients on Cascadian Farm’s pickles and you will see that ugly two-word phrase: natural flavors. This means chemicals from the New Jersey Turnpike that are being used to trick you and your […]
4. Cornelia Cotner | December 11th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
Anything to trick the public that does noty read any labels. Its hard to find a thing these day that does not have anything arteficial in it Thanks for the info
5. Jackie Vetter | December 14th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
Thank you for the work you do in staying up to date on this. I placed a link from my foodblog to your site so people could become informed about this issue and hopefully take issue with Imagine.
Thank you again
6. admin | December 14th, 2007 at 3:04 pm
Dear Jackie,
Your blog looks great! I thank you for taking the time to comment here. I think it’s so important to get information like this out there, to give people the facts they need to make good choices. It looks like you are doing the same on your blog!
Cheers!
7. Michelle | January 2nd, 2008 at 10:29 pm
I just love your blog!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to write up your stories!!! I feel your frustration - it just keeps getting harder and harder to eat anything truly natural anymore.
I posted a link to your blog on my blog, so others can be aware - and actually do something about it - like not put up with the “natural flavors” listed on way too many foods.
8. admin | January 3rd, 2008 at 12:12 am
Dear Michelle,
What a pleasure to know you found this article useful. I have just visited your blog - recoveringnicholas.com. I was very impressed with what you are doing, journaling daily life taking care of your son who has Autism.
I know I have read several times that allergies to different foods, and exposure to chemicals can severely increase symptoms of Autism in children. How old is your boy now? It seemed from your blog that he is about 3 years old. Is that right? How is he doing since you got him off soy milk?
Just goes to show you, mothers should listen to their instincts when it comes to possible allergies their children are having. I really appreciate you linking to Tangergreen and hope you’ll stop by again soon for another read!
9. Natural Flavors at From J&hellip | January 12th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
[…] Jackie had made a post and added a bit about “Natural Flavors”, so I followed the link, read the information, thought it was interesting but couldn’t imagine Jackie posting an “alert” based on just one site. So when I got home I asked her if she was sure she wanted to add the “Natural Flavors” alert until she had time to do a more in depth research and she said “I have, and I find it disturbing.” So, I thought I would make a small post and suggest you look into it and as always read the label and know what you are actually eating. You can begin your research at tangergreen.com. […]
10. Michelle | June 19th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Hi there!
I didn’t realize you wrote back to me, I’m so sorry!
He’s 3 1/2 years old - and once he was off of soy milk, he was a different child completely. If I knew then what I know now about soy, I would have never let a drop pass his lips. Do your research people!
Michelle
11. LivinRYT | July 7th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
Why consume a product with a 1 year shelf life (rice dream)? It just brings deadheadedness.
Savor the blueberries one by one. The notion of believing you have to find a “milk substitute” is not a sound one. Live simple and avoid complicated health issues and keep a clear mind. Dump rice dream in an appropriate recyclable depository. Eat fresh. Liveryt.
12. admin | July 8th, 2008 at 9:58 am
Hi LivinRYT,
I agree with you that looking for substitutes for animal milk is not really the idea here. However, it may interest you to know that rice milk need not be regarded as a substitute for anything. People have been making wonderful beverages from nuts, seeds and grains for centuries, to be enjoyed in their own right. Storing food is also a pretty ancient practice and enables the farmer to sit down in winter and eat after 9 months of work, safe in the knowledge that his cellar is full of carefully stored fruits, vegetables, grains, etc.
After 17 years of eating a vegan diet, the idea of substitutes isn’t one I really think about. Like you, I just enjoy what I eat for its own value, not because it mimics and animal product.
On the other hand, when people are transitioning to a healthier, plant-based diet, substitutes for familiar foods can be helpful to them as they make that important change. In my mind, fake meats and the like fall into that category. They aren’t what I would recommend for a long-term meal plan, but they can help folks to make an important and healthy change in their lives.
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
13. joyce carlson | August 23rd, 2008 at 7:37 pm
I appreciate the info you have provided, but if a child is allergic to milk and soy, then rice milk is there only alternative for a major source of calcium other than a vitamin and a few vegtables. I am willing to risk the use of an imitation vanila flavoring.
14. admin | August 23rd, 2008 at 11:29 pm
Hi Joyce -
Luckily, you can get the ORIGINAL flavor of Rice Dream Rice Milk for your child, as it does not contain ‘natural’ flavors like the VANILLA does.
If your child misses the vanilla taste, you could always get a little organic vanilla and add it to the milk.
Hope this helps.
15. sara | September 8th, 2008 at 12:24 am
OH my stop being so freaked out. y’all make me smile.. I used to work in the food industry. There are natural flavor enhancers usually derived from nuts or left over vanilla beans. Vanillin being a derivative of vanilla without the alcohol content. It Is typically labeled as natural flavor. since vanilla is such a pure flavor if you stick chemicals in it you typically can taste them. And you wouldn’t want them to stick all those used vanilla beans in the landfill? would you? Not when they can be recycled?? They still have flavor.. ya know after they extract every bit of vanillin flavor from them they recycle them one more time. You find the waste product from all the vanilla in your “vanilla bean” ice cream. yup those black flecks are just that black flecks they smell like nothing when you dump them in the vat.. They are natural vanilla bean flecks…
I hope you vegetarians aren’t drinking any apple juice because you do know that bugs are allowed in it.. and wine I can’t tell you how many rats have been pulled from the pickers and how many haven’t. Be sure not to eat anything blue, because that is made from beetles. And how do those weevils get in my flour.. oh wait they were there from the very beginning… if you folks really knew what you were eating…
Rice milk can be made at home very cheaply if you don’t like what they put in it make it your self.
keep smiling…
16. admin | September 8th, 2008 at 1:11 am
Hi Sara, and thank you for sharing your (rather gruesome) experiences from working in the food industry.
Making your own rice milk is a fine suggestion.
Telling folks not to be freaked out about eating chemicals…maybe not such a great idea. It’s exactly experiences like yours that should inform people as to why they should try to eat as few processed foods as possible, and at the very least, to avoid products with chemical additives.
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
17. jen | September 29th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Does anyone know where Rice Dream products are manufactured and distributed from? I tried to find out via an Internet search but didn’t find the answer. Just want to make sure they don’t manufacture in or get any ingredients from China. I called their consumer department - they told me that nothing they use comes from China (including the cartons), and that they manufacture here in the US, but I never know if I should believe these people. If you know anything, please post. Thanks!
18. michelle | October 4th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
Maybe I can be of some help concerning “animal products” in your’ rice milk. I observe Koshrus, and according to Orthdox Jewish law, meat and dairy products can not be mixed. Therefore all food products that are “kosher” must be labled if they are dairy or meat. RIce Dream is labled “parve,” which means that it is neither dairy nor meat…meaning NO ANIMAL PRODUCTS…not even as additives.
How can we know that the additives are not animal? Jewish law does not allow us to simply trust the word of the food producer; we must have food products supervised by Orthodox Jews as they are made, and checked at random, so that no one has time to clean up their act without it being known. I know that might not mean much to someone who does not keep kosher, but to me, it means a lot that someone/unrelated to the company, is checking to make sure my food is exactly what it claims to be.
19. cluppins | December 4th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
I too have been getting sick from all of the new and improved Rice Drinks. Rice Dream now makes my throat burn. It used to be a good product. No ones knows for sure what Hein Celestial is putting in their products anymore. I sent them e-mail and I got the same standard letter; it’s natural. Arsenic is a natural product, so is human hair. Just because something is natural or organic doesn’t mean it’s safe for human consumption. Natural is a gimmick word that grabs the attention of unsuspecting consumers and can unknowingly make the consumer sick. I also suspect that Hein Celestial products are all manufactured in China or India; the most polluted countries in the world. I’m officially boycotting all Hein Celestial products. They are not safe for human consumption.
20. admin | December 5th, 2008 at 1:37 am
Hello Cluppins,
That’s concerning that you feel there is something in this product that is making you sick. I’d definitely be concerned about that. No one else here has gotten sick from a Hain Celestial product, as you can see from the comments above, and the topic of this article is simply that ‘natural’ flavorings are not desirable foodstuffs, so if you feel that you got a hold of a contaminated product that actually made you ill, you should definitely report that to the market you bought it from, as well as to the company.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
21. Gee | December 16th, 2008 at 5:38 am
I enjoy rice milk, not as a milk substitute, but as an enjoyable product in its own right. My concern isn’t only what they ’say’ they are putting in rice milk, but what is being put in there as a result of dubious manufacturing processes. I don’t think mothers knowingly purchased melamine-laden formula for their infants, but nevertheless, there is was. The term ‘enriched’ really concerns me as China is fast cornering the market on vitamins that get added to food. In other word, Hain probably gets its ‘enrichment’ products from China. Do we know if the vitamiin D is really vitamin D? Is Hain’s Rice Dream product manufactured in China? This is my conern.
22. Don | December 29th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
I, too, am about to abandon Rice Dream. Last time I looked, ALL varieties now contain canola oil.
23. iz | January 4th, 2009 at 9:35 am
I think all of you need to do better research, like the admin somewhat has, before actually making commentary. Every food company has a degree of fault no matter how extensive they assume themselves to be– look at how vanilla, cocoa and coffee producers (the farms, coops themselves) abuse children with child labor even though there is a farce statement about ‘fair-trade’ on most now (now most of the children are older, and have to have at least half a day or so of schooling, but they still work the fields for our benefit)— and, fact remains, a severe amount of contaminants get into those vanilla and cocoa beans naturally because of nature itself. Ever attempt to monitor insects and winds that blow pesticides next door? Do you even realize due to ‘NAFTA’ agreements in place that the USDA has to accept ‘organic’ products from countries that still legally use DDT on farms in-between and next door to the ‘organic products (as labeled by the producing country)???? Are you even realizing just how many ‘organic’ or ‘natural’ brands have been purchased (quietly) by Kraft, who then ‘integrates’ their internal ingredient sources and supplies to the point where they lobby and push for ‘regulatory adjustments’ by the US government? Do you even realize the recent stevia allowance in food products was ‘enforced’ into a regulation change by the mere fact the major artificial companies of Coca Cola, Pepsi and Cargill lobbied for the past few years? Do you even realize that if the chemical name for stevia were used, ’stevia glycosides’, or the other, ’steviosides’ were used as extracted from the ’stevia rebaudiana’ leaves– most of you may question it EVEN if is only the evaporated tea from the natural, organic stevia leaf products as growing in the wild in South America????
As far as canola oil — heyhttp://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blcanola3.htm
THEN CHECK THE GMO status claim on food products with canola oil—- I bet Hain has a bit of a problem with anything GMO these days—
again— READ and EDUCATE yourselves before making assumptions. Rapeseed was once a NATURAL plant product that goes back centuries (related to mustard, has some health benefits see article, about the long chain fatty acids required to help prevent ALD)…..
Please get your information straight before commenting. Realize that products cost money to make, and I’d rather grow and make my own but can only spare time to afford the ‘affordable’ items made by a few companies out there— and if you really were to check company ethics, I’d rather push companies like Kraft, Frito Lay, Coke and Pepsi to do the right things than deliniate and harp on the smaller issues from a company attempting to at least do a little better.
Getting back to the original admin thread– that was well researched. IFF, Firmenich, Cargill, FFI, Bell Flavors, Wild, etc.— there are numerous companies out there that sell new ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ flavor extracts that legally require no breakdown or disclosure to manufacturers. Since 911 and the melamine scare, at least companies apparently are required to trace all sources of origin for their products and receive guarantees. However, there are some companies that can use ‘trade secret’ claims to not disclose on minimal items– such as with flavors. Here’s the catch and trade off– if we want to have great taste— most actual natural products weaken in flavor when processed according to food safety regulations and when sitting on a shelf. So unless we want to consume things that taste like cardboard or stale water all the time– we demand things taste great (how many times have you ‘doctored’ up stuff in the kitchen??) But, we don’t seem to want to pay extra to cover the cost of those flavors. What do we want? Forcing disclosure so we can make our own choices, pay more for more pure items, or scream at a retail producer that seems equally caught in the middle because we haven’t done our research as well????
BTW— as humans, I think it’s time we each take responsibility, take the time to really educate ourselves on what each of us can do to try make the changes we want to see happen— but keeping in mind, until we stop confusing the issues, there will always be an unscrupulous type of person out there who will use rumor mills and misinformation as misdirection and try to ‘get away’ with things even worse, than a natural flavor we might question at a usage of less and 0.2% (or whatever the flavor company might recommend).
24. Lena Francis | January 28th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
You all got me checking ingredients on the rice dream box. Whoa!!!
This stuff has Canola oil in it. I’m amazed at what the FDA and Canada are getting away with in importing this product. It is made from the rapeseed - highly toxic - is killing folks. I’ll try to find the link to a great site re the canola scam. In the meantime, google it and be astonished. Can = Canada. Oil = industrial oil.
Thanks for this great place to explore and share info that we really need to know.
25. Lena Francis | January 28th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
I hadn’t read IZ’s post before I posted mine.
I can see that you are a thinker, Iz and that you do lots of research but……if you cannot put it together in a way that we can make sense of it, your time is wasted. I also do not respond well to your repeated directives that we “educate ourselves” better. We wouldn’t even be at this site if we were not trying to do just that.
Iz, I could not get your link re canola oil to open. Here is one that is fairly clear re the pros and cons of canola. http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/canola.htm
I suffer from heavy metals toxicity - copper, to be exact, and am one of the “canaries in the coal mine”. I don’t take it well when being told not to be so picky and to sacrifice inteligent, whole, and clean food for the sake of taste. I have to spend a great deal of money on supplements that support my immune system in order to overcome toxins that arepresent in the environment. Even then, one toxic exposure can bring me to the brink of death.
The issue here is: Are the Rice dream products safe to use on a daily basis. My conclusion is: NO. I’ve used them as a way to take supplements, as I don’t use any dairy and have always felt they were not good for me. Keffir is my only alternative, even though most is made from cow’s milk. I can’t find one made from goats milk on the island where I live - Kauai. Water doesn’t provide the necessary buffer when taking concnetrated supplements.
Thanks, Lena
26. amy | March 30th, 2009 at 3:24 am
Also, check out “enriched”. Enriched means it contains msg. For more info on it, go to truthinlabeling.org. that site helps me so much, since I am sensitive to toxins, like every other human. There is a section on that site that lists the alternate names of msg. It mentions natural flavoring sometimes contains it, too. Russell blaylock has a book on excitotoxins, too, which is vital.
27. Diane | June 13th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
Just a short fyi… I have a daughter who drinks enriched rice milk in her bottle in the evening. I mistakenly bought vanilla rice milk one time, but didn’t think it was a big deal and used it instead. Every evening she drank the vanilla rice dream the following morning she would vomit and sometimes in the middle of the night. I didn’t make the connection to the vanilla until we switched back to the regular enriched rice dream and the vomitting stopped. Thank you for the “natural” vanilla flavor information. We’ve been avoiding all vanilla for fear of more reactions, but I think the fake stuff is probably the culprit, so will enjoy our real vanilla again.
28. admin | June 14th, 2009 at 11:38 am
Dear Diane,
Thank you for coming to share your story. It sounds as though there may well be something in Vanilla Enriched Rice Milk that your baby can’t tolerate. I sincerely hope her health improves as a result of switching products.
I did want to add here, as I have had this question asked of me elsewhere (and I’m sure you already know this Diane) but Rice Milk is not a replacement for human milk or infant formula. The reason Rice Dream Rice Milk contains a statement on the label about it not being intended for children under 5 years of age is not because it would hurt babies, but because parents might mistakenly think Rice Milk is infant formula - which it certainly isn’t.
Unweaned babies and toddlers either need to be drinking their mother’s milk, or if they are allergic to it, a specially formulated infant formula that has been recommended by their pediatrician. Though rice milks and soy milks do provide a certain amount of nutrition, they must never be viewed as a replacement for the perfectly designed human milk, or scientifically designed infant formula that is created to provide complete nutrition.
Just thought I would mention this as it has come up many times.
29. TomMorrows | June 21st, 2009 at 11:00 am
What the FDA permits?
Read this:
“I have evidence that Monsanto’s own scientist (Margaret
Miller) confirmed the validity of an assay that can
determine the difference between genetically engineered milk
and normal milk. Scientist Margaret Miller left Monsanto in
the middle of the FDA approval process and went to work at
FDA where she analyzed her own research, which led to
approval.”
The excerpt is from the website “NOTMILK”
http://www.notmilk.com/monsantoland.html
So why would you even think the FDA cares about you? They’re in it for the money.
Anyway, hey, great article. Very informative, and thanks for doing your own thinking. That’s the way to do it.
30. M Luckey | July 15th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
I drink the Original Rice Dream and am finding it to be just fine. It, evidently, has no additives that you speak of in the ‘vanilla’ flavored. Great on cereals. I just started on this venture recently after being introduced to it after having a high cholesterol count for the first time in my life. I assure you, I am allergic to so many things and eat fresh all the time, so this count was hard to take.
I’m allergic to nuts, eggs, etc., and I do not consume pork, very low amounts of lean red meat, but I love fresh turkey and chicken. (Sorry, vegan is rather hard for me right now, but I’m working toward it).
I have been using I.M. Healthy Soy Butter. Has anyone out there found soy to cause allergic reactions, not specified by the allergists, for those who have allergies to all other nuts?
31. dave | August 10th, 2009 at 6:17 pm
Top job, I give thanks that it still has people in this world who can
see what mankind has come to because of GREED, no more concern for life, only for gain.
I loved the Rice Dream Milk until one day I decided to really check out what’s in it and that’s when I saw this great article from someone who cares.
I
THAT’S IT FOR ME, MY FAMILY, MY HEALTH FOOD STORE AND WHOEVER I CAN MAKE THIS KNOWN TOO,. NO MORE RICEDREAM .
Thank you Tangergreen keep up the great work.
32. beth | August 26th, 2009 at 10:52 am
wow-thanks for this info!
(no, I dont work for them, but I love their products! its about time. raw, 100% whole, non processed pre packaged foods)
I eye ANY and ALL processed foods with suspicion nowadays. and I hardly eat ANY, ever. Its sad, but what can you do? hopefully this will change but I dont see it happening in my lifetime. The only “good” pre packaged foods Ive found are
LARA BARS
33. Stephanie | September 9th, 2009 at 2:39 am
This thread is interesting… I suffer from a range of food intolerances and used Rice Dream rice milk for years without realising it was based on fermented rice. The repackaged product in the UK caused me a reaction where by, within a few mouthfuls I was feeling unwell and developed candida symptoms. The new oil has caused a redness in my mouth to the extent that I had to discontinue use.
I sent a query to the company and received a slightly odd reply saying the product had not changed and had always been fermented- apparently another ‘natural’ process.. How this, coupled with the lack of certainty as to whether the product is gluten free (used to make clear, ‘contains barley protein’), could be considered an allergy product I will never know. Who would put ‘high oleoic’ oils in milk either- the extra oil left me feeling sick. I have to admit that I have found other ‘allergy’ milks difficult in finding a suitable replacement- but without the Rice Dream my yeast infection has really improved..
A further issue, very often, there was also a certain amount of ’spillage’ in Rice Dream between the varieties with the vanilla flavour and sometimes the new nut variety mixing in with the original and calcium, doubtless during manufacturing- unhelpful too with allergies!
34. Carmen | February 27th, 2010 at 10:39 am
I have recently learned that Rice Dream is also not being manufactured with Good manufacturing practices. After having my 2 year old have a severe reaction to the product, discovered that there were tree nuts in the milk. People with nut allergies should be avoiding this product! Even though tree nuts is not declared on the label.
35. Edie Kaplan | September 5th, 2010 at 6:30 pm
I have celiac disease and up until recently had no problem with Original Rice Dream Rice Milk. However, this week I had some puffed brown rice with blueberries, pecans and the milk. Within 2 hours I was experiencing G.I. cramping. I don’t trust this product any more.
36. Jeff | January 27th, 2012 at 6:30 am
There is nothing I despise more than dishonesty and this is a form of trying to fool people by playing with words. It simply deception for the sake of profit. Rice Dreams and Hains needs to be exposed.
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