4 ms·

The first of many hiccups in their batch processing. For two weeks they sold Coffeist without knowing the manufacturing process burned off the Vitamin A and C.

by colept 10y ago

The first of many hiccups in their batch processing. For two weeks they sold Coffeist without knowing the manufacturing process burned off the Vitamin A and C. They promised an update via email to customers but instead posted a blog update, while re-labeling and selling the remaining product at full cost. The last instance of mold occurred just last month inside and out of sealed 2.0 bottles. Machinery leaked mold before the bottles were wrapped. Numerous customers and several batches were contaminated - with no contact from the company. Other problems have included varying consistency from batch to batch and formula changes of viscosity without warning, and then the claims from users that have found roaches inside of the Soylent-branded boxes containing the bottles (not inside the shipping box). The problem here is their approach. To discover this information you have to be connected to the community and keep yourself fully up to date or else you may find yourself unknowingly consuming a tainted batch. So far Coffeist has been the only instance in which they reached out to customers, despite there being several to many contaminated batches of their entire line - from bars, bottles, and powder. The whole point of Soylent is that it's convenient, worry-free, and nutritionally complete. When I have to vigorously check my bars or bottles for mold, improper mixing, or to see if the expiration matches a contaminated batch - it's no longer convenient or worry-free. When they don't know for two weeks that manufacturing burns away the vitamins - and they re-label to sell it at full cost - it's no longer nutritionally complete. "If you notice you have a bad batch, contact us," is not the approach I can trust for a new contender with no market trust. For a company that totes 100% transparency, they need to work on their customer outreach.

whamlastxmas 10y ago
>To discover this information you have to be connected to the community and keep yourself fully up to date or else you may find yourself unknowingly consuming a tainted batch. This is true of every single product in existence. General Mills doesn't send you a letter or email every time they come across a bad batch of cereal, and it probably happens more often to GM than it will to Soylent. And I doubt GM would even discuss this sort of thing online, much less actually manage to recall anything in less than a month of investigating.
- vonmoltke 10y ago
  That is not true of any other food products. If General Mills has a bad batch of cereal they notify the public by, at the very least, issuing recall notices to all the stores that sold the tainted products. Those notices are on display every time you walk in to a store. For retailers like Costco, where the store knows exactly who bought what and has their contact information, you do get contacted directly when there is a recall or other issue with contaminated food.
- colept 10y ago
  The difference is General Mills is an established brand that sells conventional products that we know and trust. If you get a bad batch of Cocoa Puffs, you won't think twice about eating Cheerios or Lucky Charms. You'll stop eating it for a while, hear about a recall on the news, and then one day you'll put it in your cart because you remember how good it tastes. There's more comfort in knowing it's produced in mass quantity. Soylent is not a conventional product. It's trying to tap into a new market and approaching these issues as if they've already a mainstay. When there's mold in both their powder and their bottles, now I'm checking my bars for mold too. When they sell a product they claim has 100% nutritional value, yet they don't test such a claim - I'm now wondering if the rest of my supply is also lacking. I've enthusiastically enjoyed Soylent. Their Coffeist is my go-to breakfast and I will continue to finish my remaining supply of bars and bottles. But I won't spend another time until Rosa Labs can be trusted to back up their claims and correct these frequent manufacturing mishaps.
- brianwawok 10y ago
  Costco sends me an email and a phone call every time they sell me tainted frozen veggies.
- 6nf 10y ago
  When GM does a product recall (which is pretty damn rare considering how many products they ship) everyone knows about it and it's all over the news for days. They even take out ads in newspapers to let people know which batches are contaminated. The only reason they DON'T send you a letter is because 99% of the time people purchased the goods in a store and no contact details of consumers are available.
deleted 10y ago
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by colept 10y ago

whamlastxmas 10y ago

>To discover this information you have to be connected to the community and keep yourself fully up to date or else you may find yourself unknowingly consuming a tainted batch. This is true of every single product in existence. General Mills doesn't send you a letter or email every time they come across a bad batch of cereal, and it probably happens more often to GM than it will to Soylent. And I doubt GM would even discuss this sort of thing online, much less actually manage to recall anything in less than a month of investigating.

vonmoltke 10y ago
That is not true of any other food products. If General Mills has a bad batch of cereal they notify the public by, at the very least, issuing recall notices to all the stores that sold the tainted products. Those notices are on display every time you walk in to a store. For retailers like Costco, where the store knows exactly who bought what and has their contact information, you do get contacted directly when there is a recall or other issue with contaminated food.
colept 10y ago
The difference is General Mills is an established brand that sells conventional products that we know and trust. If you get a bad batch of Cocoa Puffs, you won't think twice about eating Cheerios or Lucky Charms. You'll stop eating it for a while, hear about a recall on the news, and then one day you'll put it in your cart because you remember how good it tastes. There's more comfort in knowing it's produced in mass quantity. Soylent is not a conventional product. It's trying to tap into a new market and approaching these issues as if they've already a mainstay. When there's mold in both their powder and their bottles, now I'm checking my bars for mold too. When they sell a product they claim has 100% nutritional value, yet they don't test such a claim - I'm now wondering if the rest of my supply is also lacking. I've enthusiastically enjoyed Soylent. Their Coffeist is my go-to breakfast and I will continue to finish my remaining supply of bars and bottles. But I won't spend another time until Rosa Labs can be trusted to back up their claims and correct these frequent manufacturing mishaps.
brianwawok 10y ago
Costco sends me an email and a phone call every time they sell me tainted frozen veggies.
6nf 10y ago
When GM does a product recall (which is pretty damn rare considering how many products they ship) everyone knows about it and it's all over the news for days. They even take out ads in newspapers to let people know which batches are contaminated. The only reason they DON'T send you a letter is because 99% of the time people purchased the goods in a store and no contact details of consumers are available.

deleted 10y ago

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