15 grams of yeast.. instead of 11.5..

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How is breaking up a brick of yeast and repackaging it in smaller bags (labelled as such) 'passing off'? It would be one thing if it was bakers yeast being labelled as us-05 or whatever, but how is correctly labelling something 'passing off'? Where is the intent to mislead the consumer here?
 
I don't think it would even be worthwhile Fermentis speaking to a lawyer, they would just get an apology and the image removed,while I can see how it could be misleading I think it would be a grey area to get into, as it says now in a 15 gram pack does it mean a Safale Fermentis package or a different pack ie as KK put it out.
They aren't worried about it don't see why we should be except for the fact that dates could be changed, (as with repackaged hops)and as they retail in larger packs to HBS they would know somebody will be repackaging even if it is the end user.
 
GalBrew said:
How is breaking up a brick of yeast and repackaging it in smaller bags (labelled as such) 'passing off'? It would be one thing if it was bakers yeast being labelled as us-05 or whatever, but how is correctly labelling something 'passing off'? Where is the intent to mislead the consumer here?
The retailer's web site advertises a factory pack of yeast of 15grams. It uses the image of the originating company to mislead consumers that the product carries with it the reputation and goodwill of that company's products.

What don't you get?
 
wide eyed and legless said:
I don't think it would even be worthwhile Fermentis speaking to a lawyer, they would just get an apology and the image removed,while I can see how it could be misleading I think it would be a grey area to get into, as it says now in a 15 gram pack does it mean a Safale Fermentis package or a different pack ie as KK put it out.
They aren't worried about it don't see why we should be except for the fact that dates could be changed, (as with repackaged hops)and as they retail in larger packs to HBS they would know somebody will be repackaging even if it is the end user.
Fermentis is a big company and would have lawyers on staff. They don't have to hire one to talk to.

The people Yob messaged (and good on you Yob) I suspect are just the sales team. They're are probably happy flogging kg packs of yeast to retailers and getting their commissions. However, It is the corporate area of Fermentis that needs to know, and they will pounce on it.
 
Feldon said:
The retailer's web site advertises a factory pack of yeast of 15grams. It uses the image of the originating company to mislead consumers that the product carries with it the reputation and goodwill of that company's products.

What don't you get?
So if the pic on the website was of the repackaged yeast in the foil pack then you would be fine with it? It is still us-05 yeast in the pack after all. I think you would be pretty ignorant to see yeast (or anything for that matter) packed in a plain silver foil bag with the shop's label on it and think that it originated out of the factory.
 
GalBrew said:
So if the pic on the website was of the repackaged yeast in the foil pack then you would be fine with it? It is still us-05 yeast in the pack after all. I think you would be pretty ignorant to see yeast (or anything for that matter) packed in a plain silver foil bag with the shop's label on it and think that it originated out of the factory.
If you are asking would I be fine with the retailer opening an 11.5 gram pack, topping it up to 15 grams with more of the same yeast, and resealing - no I wouldn't be fine with it. The retailer has degraded the product by opening it to atmosphere.I should be confident when I buy Fermentis yeast that it hasn't been opened since it left the factory.

Regarding you're other point, the retailer is offering to sell Fermentis yeast through online sales by using this image:

http://kegking.com.au/yeast/fermentis-safale-us-05-yeast-15g.html

So, let's say I make the online purchase based of the website information and get delivered a silver foil pack of repackaged yeast. I have been misled, and the retailer is in breach of Australian consumer law.

Also note that advertising that might mislead is illegal, even if no sales are made. The intent possibility to mislead is just as illegal as the act of misleading, regardless of intent.

Edit: clarified 'intent'.
 
Feldon said:
If you are asking would I be fine with the retailer opening an 11.5 gram pack, topping it up to 15 grams with more of the same yeast, and resealing - no I wouldn't be fine with it. The retailer has degraded the product by opening it to atmosphere.I should be confident when I buy Fermentis yeast that it hasn't been opened since it left the factory.
I agree, if that was to occur then that is uncool. What does happen is that a brick of yeast is split into 15g aliquots and then sealed in foil bags. While I will concede the point about the website photo (that is not an accurate representation of reality), I personally don't see the problem with this practice, in effect it is identical to what occurs with hops and there are multiple retailers around who do this. So long as the consumer is aware of this (which could be better explained on the website) and doesn't care, what is the problem?

If you don't want to buy repackaged yeast that is fine, don't. But how far do we want to go with this? Homebrew shops buy plenty of stuff in bulk and split them up for retail sale such as: hops, yeast brewing sugars, LDME, grain, oak chips, kettle finings etc. It has been going on for years, why the big shitstorm over this in particular? I think people should have a choice if they wish to buy products in this fashion for a discount or not.
 
Nothing wrong with selling repackaged yeast, hops, condoms, whatever. No law against that.

Just don't mislead consumers into thinking that they are buying something that the product is not (in this case factory packaged Fermentis yeast). If you do you are breaking the law.

Show me a hops retailer who sells small volume product packs purporting to be packaged by the mega company from which the hops were sourced.

Our consumer laws are there to protect us all from dodgy shopkeepers and should be supported by all thinking Australians.
 
they arent saying "you cant repackage the bricks"

its

"you cant repackage the bricks and call it US05" fair enough, its their brand name at stake.

hypothetical scenario... it's a windy day and a whole bunch of lacto comes in from the grains being split not far away and settles on the brick as it's being split and a dozen people are up in arms about it because all of their brews are infected, they kick up a stink, make a noise on the net and then a whole bunch of people stop buying US05 as a result.. word spreads.. bad news spreads like fire. BUT!!

^^ This hasn't happened, just throwing a hypothetical ^^

What if its a plain foil, with "ale Yeast" stamped on it.. Buyer knows what he/she is getting and accepts the results.. gets the infection and says "Next time Im getting a better yeast"... or not, doesnt matter, the Manufacturers product (with all the QA assurances we are given) is protected. Firstly by the brand name not appearing on the packaging and secondly by the fact that the customer knew the risks.

It'd be a good thing if all re packaged yeast said so on the packet, we know what's going on but Mr Jo Noob doesnt, just gets the cheapest yeast and is off on the learning curve.
 
Yob said:
they arent saying "you cant repackage the bricks"

its

"you cant repackage the bricks and call it US05" fair enough, its their brand name at stake.


It'd be a good thing if all re packaged yeast said so on the packet, we know what's going on but Mr Jo Noob doesnt, just gets the cheapest yeast and is off on the learning curve.
Did they actually say that the yeast cannot be repackaged and called US05?
 
Fermentis is a small business in the group of a large family business (Lesaffre Group) who have their fingers in many pies, I don't know who Yob emailed whether it be the Lesaffre Group or the agent here in Australia, and if those repackaging can't can't call the yeast US05 (it is a registered trademark) then why not just call it American Ale Yeast, problem solved, that is if Lesaffre object to the repackaging.
 
Yob said:
"requested to cease any re-pack and re-sale activity under Fermentis brand"
With reference to the way hops are repackaged, varieties like Galaxy and Amarillo are brand names and trademarks. Breaking up bales of these hops and re packaging is in my eyes the same as the yeast, where there are no assurances on the QC of the product. Re packaged hops have also been exposed to the atmosphere and have undergone some level of oxidation in the packaging process (not that I care). Additionally who is to say that some unscrupulous operators aren't 'cutting' their high demand varieties with something else, potentially damaging the good name of a particular trademark?

Just saying, not implying that this actually occurs.
 
As said previously, the way you use Hops differs significantly than yeast, risks etc are much more mitigated

Who can say what unscrupulous people do eh? I can only speak from my own experience when I say that I personally never gave much thought to re packaging yeast, was asked early on in the piece but dismissed it fro a risk to client point of view.

Yeast is VERY different to Hops
 
Yob said:
Yeast is VERY different to Hops
Of course they are very different, but that isn't what we are talking about any more is it? We are talking about potential damage to specific brands through poor product handling and potential breaches of consumer law. The same thing can be said about growler fills too right? a third party re-packaging a branded product and letting it out into the public without any input from the producer. Anyway I've had enough of this one, the point I was trying to make is that we are all getting sand in our collective vaginas over what one retailer does with yeast, when shit like this happens all the time, everywhere with everything and no one bats an eyelid. I could understand if this repackaged yeast was ruining people's beer en masse, but has anyone ever had an issue with it?
 
GalBrew said:
With reference to the way hops are repackaged, varieties like Galaxy and Amarillo are brand names and trademarks. Breaking up bales of these hops and re packaging is in my eyes the same as the yeast, where there are no assurances on the QC of the product. Re packaged hops have also been exposed to the atmosphere and have undergone some level of oxidation in the packaging process (not that I care). Additionally who is to say that some unscrupulous operators aren't 'cutting' their high demand varieties with something else, potentially damaging the good name of a particular trademark?

Just saying, not implying that this actually occurs.
Not even remotely the same. Aside from the fact that amarillo is a patented hop variety and various distributors are authorised to onsell those to retailers, it's the assumption that when you see fermentis branded labels, you have the right to expect fermentis packing standards have been met because yeast is a micro-organism. They even supply in their pdfs an expected level of various other microorganisms for each strain - something made totally redundant if someone else opens then repacks.

Might have a point if retailer A bought amarillo from wholesaler B, made their own labels with wholesaler B logo and font copied on but that's no what we're looking at. Wholesaler in this case is evidently unhappy with the practice so I'm not sure why you think it's ok.
 
GalBrew said:
Additionally who is to say that some unscrupulous operators aren't 'cutting' their high demand varieties with something else, potentially damaging the good name of a particular trademark?

Just saying, not implying that this actually occurs.
I think Galbrew has a point right there manticle, also who is to say that the dates are fair dinkum, as for the repackaging of the Fermentis, it would be easy for them to stop the practice if they were concerned, and as KK also put there logo on the packaging we all would know that it has been repackaged, apart from maybe the 'new starters'
 
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