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Kerrygold is marketed as grass-fed and all-natural, but the tub butter has concerning ingredients, dangers and marketing ploys to consider before buying.
Kerrygold, without question, is probably one of the best store butters you can buy. I myself have been using it for years for cooking.
The milk is from grass-fed cows and even though the cream used to make Kerrygold Butter is pasteurized, it is the best choice available to most folks who do not have access to raw butter from a small farm or who simply don’t want to use their precious raw butter for cooking.
I also know that many of you out there use Kerrygold too. When I conducted a Butter Poll on this blog awhile back, by far the most used butter (out of 1,500 or so total votes) was Kerrygold which received way more votes than even Organic Valley butter.
So what’s the problem?
My husband brought home the “new” Kerrygold butter the other day. On the surface, it looked fine. Nowhere on the outside of the package was there any indication that there was a problem with this butter. Here’s what it looks like.
I got suspicious with the “new” label, however. There’s nothing “new” about butter. That’s what I like about it after all!
Another tip-off that there was a problem lurking was the proclamation on the label that this “New Kerrygold” was “naturally softer”.
When I first saw the “naturally softer” words, I thought that meant that the butter was whipped and hence more spreadable. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want air whipped into my butter. This is a surefire way to get less product and get charged the same price for the privilege if you know what I mean.
I made a mental note to tell my husband not to buy this butter again because it was whipped and not as good a value.
But then, it got way worse…
Is Kerrygold Butter Grass-fed?
I took off the lid to the new Kerrygold package and saw the following words:
I had become a victim of the Big Fast One!
Kerrygold is stealthily selling LOWFAT butter and guess what? You get to pay the same price for the cheaper quality!
NOWHERE on the outside of the label did it say that the butter was low-fat. The ingredients said simply: pasteurized cream and salt the same as the commercialized Amish butter at the supermarket.
I daresay that this marketing ploy will be fooling a lot of folks who desire to buy full-fat grass-fed butter.
It seems that some butter brands have adopted what companies making substitutes for butter have been doing for years.
I have become very tuned in to these labeling tricks and manufacturer games over the years. When it comes to packaging, I double-check the ingredients along with the manufacturing processes every few months. This is even for products that I’ve been buying for years.
But how many people really do this?
Ingredient Bait and Switch
You NEED to be doing this!
Manufacturers are changing ingredients and packaging all the time! The primary intent of these “improvements” is to increase product sales and profitability. Your health is, sadly, of little to no concern in the grand scheme of things.
Reducing the fat content in its butter will skyrocket profits for Kerrygold as they will make the same per unit for the butter and yet be able to sell the skimmed cream to other companies to make ice cream or whatnot thereby increasing revenue substantially.
If you buy Kerrygold, I’m not telling you to stop buying it. I’m only telling you to beware of this new packaging nonsense and be sure what you buy is what you intend: full-fat butter!
By the way, if you are wondering why I love full-fat butter, you might want to educate yourself on the low-fat scam by learning about the history of butter vs margarine in the United States.
As for me, I will be returning this product to the store for a full refund. It is falsely advertised after all. I had no way of knowing it was a low-fat product until I opened it.
Manufacturer Response
I received this email from Kerrygold following the widespread sharing of this article. I find it very hard to believe that my blog suddenly brought this packaging error to their attention.
Do they have NO ONE on the production line in charge of quality control? This was not a difficult problem to identify. Could we have a bit of spin going on here? Perhaps so.
Dear Sarah,
Your blog has brought to our attention a packaging error of which we were unaware. While Kerrygold does sell a Reduced Fat & Sodium Butter the pack you show on your blog is 100% full fat butter which has been packed with the incorrect inner seal. There is no deliberate intent on our part to mislead our valued consumers or to misrepresent our product although we regret the confusion this is clearly creating.
We are working to identify how much product has been released into the market with the incorrect packaging so that we can replace it as soon as possible. In the meantime we would appreciate your assistance in clarifying the misunderstanding to your readers. We would love to provide further clarity — our email is [email protected] — and we are happy to answer any specific questions you and your readers may have in relation to the product.
With thanks & regards,
The Kerrygold Team
Why I No Longer Buy Kerrygold
I wanted to let all of you know that I no longer buy even the traditional Kerrygold brick butter in foil packaging. Why? A good friend visited Ireland and traveled extensively to a number of grass-based dairy farms.
This credible source told me that while the cows that provide cream for the Kerrygold butter are definitely on pasture and hence “grass-fed”, they receive supplemental GMO animal feed as well especially during the winter months. The local community and citizenry in Ireland concur and will tell you as much if you are in the area.
So, the word on the street is that Kerrygold is not legitimately pastured either.
Butter from cows that get GMO feed introduces the very real possibility of Roundup residue in the butter.
Thanks but no thanks!
While I have not been able to confirm this story 100%, I trusted the credibility of the information enough to permanently switch to another brand (I currently use this one).
I use this butter for cooking in addition to the homemade pastured raw butter I make for non-cooking purposes.
I also no longer recommend Kerry Gold in my Shopping Guide.
What about Organic Valley butter as an alternative to Kerry Gold? While I am not happy about Organic Valley’s policy that disallows member farmers to sell raw milk on the side to their community (treating them more like medieval serfs than the independent business owners that they are), I find this less onerous than deceptively feeding animals GMO feed without clearly informing the end consumer.
Marijana Camaj
This article is misleading. This version is obviously different from the butter blocks. It’s a whipped version for people who like a lighter, easier to spread butter. Just like you can purchase whipped cream-cheese in a tub which weighs less and costs more because again, it’s easy to spread. Some people may like that convenience and don’t mind spending the extra money, I personally don’t. Now because it’s whipped and contains more air bubbles, one measured tablespoon of the whipped version will not only be lighter in weight than the non-whipped one but also have less fat because technically it’s less product than the dense, solid version. As much as I detest gimmicky labeling and marketing I don’t think that you’re doing anyone any favors by spreading misinformation.
Sarah Pope MGA
Please read the entire article before sounding off with “this article is misleading” criticisms. The end of the article discusses why the block butter is not a good choice either!
Deborah
To date, what butter brand are you comfortable buying and eating these days?
Sarah Pope MGA
I eat a grassfed butter from my local dairy. It’s not commercially available.
Me
Have you tried Vital Farms? I know their eggs are hands down, the best tasting on the market. I have also started buying their butter.
Risi
Are you sure Kerrygold is grass fed? https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/food-drink/kerrygold-lawsuit-grass-fed
Robert
Is there credible evidence that GMOs are harmful? I’ve read lots of speculation on blogs that they’re dangerous, but have seen no solid evidence from respected and credible sources. Just to give an example from Harvard:
“Though knowing who to trust and what to believe regarding this topic is an ongoing battle, major health groups, including the American Medical Association and World Health Organization, have concluded from the research of independent groups worldwide that genetically modified foods are safe for consumers [4].”
This hysteria about GMOs reminds me of climate science denial or anti-vaxxers, and it’s regrettable since there are some clear benefits to GMOs.
Sarah Pope MGA
Sounds like the only sources you’re listening to on the subject are the major media outlets. Read the other side. https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/from-sterility-to-stomach-holes-11-scientific-reasons-why-you-must-avoid-gmos-now/
matt
Jesus guys, come on. It’s a different product. Buy the block of butter in a wrapper if you want `proper` butter. Obvsiouly the spreadable version in a plastic tub is going to be made differently!
Sarah Pope MGA
You’ve missed the point of the article! This tub spread is marketed as butter when it obviously is some sort of blend. False advertising.
sjmcateer
kerrygold isnt a company,its a brand of “ornua” which used to be the irish dairy board,its a food co operative which markets and sells products for the members which are the dairy processors and dairy farmers of ireland.The spread mentioned in the article is one of those softer butter products that most dairy product companies sell these days,as you mentioned the traditional block butter is still available and is still the biggest seller. Im no defending them putting the wrong inner seal on a product but it does happen in production all it takes is an employee to load the wrong foil roll on the press! kerrygold is exported worldwide and some countries get different products the usa for instances gets vastly more products than is available here in europe,the low fat version in fact is not available here in europe! production issues happen sometimes its just not possible to trace a mistake such as that with the foil inner! As for the gmo feed,yes ireland uses it heavly in farming but i dont see where your point is regarding ornua placeing this information on the label,many many companies through out the supply chains of varies products use gmo ingredients and it is not listed on the end product,i would suggest as you have done that if people truly want gmo free then they should buy and consume organic,it is the ONLY type of end product where you can be guaranteed there is no gmo ingredient involved! people want to make a stand on gmo,i understand that approach but really have people thought through there stand if after all theyve probably consumed a vast aray of gmo tainted products on a daily basis and will continue to do so! dont beleve me? then think about you last cup of coffee or if you purchased a take out coffee, addatives flavourings etc do get put into products and some of them do come from crops that are gm,the same can be said for many other products! Of course people can make a choice when becomeing informed as it is there right to do so.As for the “Kerrygold is not legitimately pastured” if you mean pasture fed then irish farms like much of the rest of europe are dependent on temperate weather for pasture feeding, fine in the spring/summer not possible in the winter, for a good chunk of the year dairy cows are out in pasture eating the fresh growing grass i dont know of a dairy farmer yet who would rather barn there herd and feed them fodder when the fields are lush with the green stuff! also if you havent been to ireland then understand is bloody impossible to avoid grass,fields of grass there is a reason its called the emerald isle!
ian wood
Like how they replied to your blog and then you mention gmo .lmao
Also why is roombutter in amsterdam soft in the fridge at supermaket 4 mins later at home it was like it had been out for hours.uk butter is very hard…….. unless its 25 deg c.
Regards
Jess
Meg, regarding your comment about how insignificant the issue is: I am grateful that in your life this truly appears to be an insignificant issue. Unfortunately, some people are not lucky and have health conditions that makes knowing exactly what we are consuming a critical issue. Blessings to you, and I hope you never develop one of these conditions!
Sarah! Thank you so much for being vigilant and vocal. This is truly helpful!! Please continue to stand for what is good and right, even when it seems insignificant to some.
Meg
No offense, but I think you need to find bigger and worse things to get offended about. Butter is low on my list, and it should be on yours. We’ve got bigger fish to fry.
Kari Hartley
I, for one am grateful Sarah took the time to research and post this information. Butter is a significant enough part of my family’s diet and as a busy mother I am thankful someone took the time to investigate; this information has benefited me greatly!