Is rice milk ok for me to consume?  

What does organic mean?
Organic or bio or biologic means that the food is produced in accordance with the organic agricultural production method, without the use of pesticides, fungicides, herbicides or chemicals and without artificial fertilizers, etc. It is controlled by official control bodies on the compliance with the rules (EC Regulation N° 2092/91). You can recognise organic products by the organic guarantee label on the packaging, which is controlled and protected under EU law.

Does Provamel have an environmental policy?
Yes. Provamel's environmental programme was set up 10 years ago to reduce the environmental impact of its manufacturing process, products and packaging.

What is the composition of the sweetener wheat syrup?
Wheat syrup is produced using a 100% natural process. Natural barley enzymes convert the wheat starch into a syrup that has the aspect and consistency of honey. The wheat syrup, with its unique flavour and exceptional nutritional properties, provides a combination of simple and complex sugars that is ideal for a balanced and varied diet.

What does GMO mean?
GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism. A genetically modified organism is an organism whose genetic material has been altered causing the expression of modified or novel traits.

What is a cow’s milk protein allergy?
An allergy occurs when the body reacts to a substance that is in fact not dangerous by producing antibodies. Cow’s milk protein allergy is the most frequently occurring allergy among young children. With this allergy, the body’s defence mechanism reacts whenever pieces of cow’s milk protein are absorbed. Even very small quantities of cow’s milk protein can cause allergic reactions.

Are Provamel products suitable for babies and children?
The Provamel milk substitutes made of soy are not suitable for babies under 1 year old. Soya is not adapted to the specific needs of infants. However they can be offered as a healthy drink between meals to children older than 1 year. The Provamel soy drink with added calcium can be given to children from the age of 1 as part of a healthy, balanced and varied  diet. You should ask the advice of your GP or dietician before giving your child a dairy-free diet.

Why does the consistency of the desserts sometimes vary?
The consistency of our desserts and yofu is dependent on the natural composition of the ingredients and because we only use natural (mainly organic) ingrediënts from organic agriculture, products from different production runs can vary slightly. However, we have laid down a standard and we always ensure that the thickness of the product comes within the parameters of this standard.

Can soy be recommended in a cholesterol-lowering diet?
All soy products are 100% vegetable and are naturally cholesterol-free. Soy is also rich in good polyunsaturated fatty acids and low in bad saturated fatty acids. But above all, studies have shown that a daily intake of 25g of soy protein – in a diet with limited amounts of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol – can have a cholesterol-lowering effect (JHCI 2002).

How come wheat starch is gluten-free?
Wheat does contain gluten, but it is the protein in the wheat that contains the gluten. Wheat starch contains only the sugars from wheat and these are 100% gluten-free and easily separated from the wheat proteins. Therefore products can contain wheat elements and still be gluten-free.
It is however possible that products made with wheat syrup contain a trace of gluten, but the amount is far below the limit set by the Celiac Disease Foundation. It is absolutely no problem for people with a gluten allergy.

Why do most Provamel products keep for so long?
Our products keep for a long time because they are UHT-treated aseptic (= Ultra High Temperature). To destroy any bacteria that might be present, the products are exposed to extremely high temperatures for a short time. The UHT method destroys all bacteria but it preserves all the valuable nutritional elements.

For how long exactly will Provamel products keep?
If the packaging of the Soya Drinks and Soya Desserts is unopened, they don’t need to be kept in the fridge and can be stored in temperatures up to 45°, because they have been UHT treated. Unopened, the product will keep for up to 9 months from the production date. Once opened, they are best kept in the fridge where they will keep for another 4 to 5 days. When opened and not kept in the fridge they will keep for 1 day only.
Soya Yofu is a fresh product with live cultures that has a use-by date of 32 days from the production date – soya Yofu should always be kept in the fridge.

Is rice milk ok for me to consume?
Further to the publication of the Food Standards Information Sheet on arsenic levels in rice products, including rice grains, rice food stuffs and drinks, we confirm that all of our rice drinks have been tested by both the FSA and an independent laboratory and are within the legal limits for levels of arsenic in foodstuffs. The current UK legal limit for arsenic in non alcoholic beverages is 100 parts per billion (ppb, 0.1mg/kg). The results of the FSA and independent tests confirmed that none of our products exceeded 20 ppb for inorganic arsenic, which is comparable to drinking water and considerably lower than other drinks and foodstuffs. The European Food Standards Agency (EFSA) are reviewing their advice on arsenic levels, which may result in revised legal limits being set for all food stuff later this year. In the interests of consumer clarity we had requested that the Food Standards Agency (FSA) await the final ruling from EFSA before publishing their statement, however, we will continue to cooperate with them to ensure the highest level of food safety for our products. The level of arsenic in rice and rice milk has not changed, however what has changed is the technological advances in testing which mean that we can now detect low levels of arsenic in products. We will continue to ensure that our consumers are provided with up to date information.