Usually, I am very cautious. I still live with my parents, and I’ve been vegetarian since I was 13. Every time my parents buy a dessert, I ask them if there is gelatine. Usually there isn’t, but I ALWAYS check the label anyway; I’ve learned not to trust anybody when they assume it is suitable for vegetarians without checking.

A few nights ago, my dad made the mistake of assuming something was vegetarian but when I checked it had beef gelatine. I didn’t eat it beforehand, so that wasn’t the problem and we all got on with our evenings. But then today I was in the shop and decided to check another item that I had assumed I could have, but never properly checked.

My mum would buy it for us every few months as a treat, and the first time she did I asked if it was vegetarian and she said yes. For some reason, this was the item I never checked, but after my dad didn’t check a few days ago, and it was a similar product, I decided to make sure.

The ingredients list was in Spanish, so I had to use translate on my phone, but it had gelatine.

I’m so angry at myself for not checking, even though I’m usually so careful. A lot of the time when I ask them if something is vegetarian they think I overreact since it usually is and there are few exceptions.

I just needed to get this out there. I’m so sad! Vegetarianism has been such a big part of my life for YEARS now, and although it is just a blip, I have now learned that I need to be more vigilant.