Is Tyson Foods less than transparent by failing to state on the front packaging of its Jimmy Dean English Muffin Sausage, Egg & Cheese Sandwiches that the meat is a blend of pork and mechanically separated chicken?

Consumers like me, who grew up seeing commercials in which Jimmy Dean touted the pure pork in his company’s sausage products, will naturally assume that these sandwiches are solely made from pork.

They’re not.

Jimmy Dean English Muffin Sausage, Egg & Cheese Sandwiches contain a mixture of pork and chicken.

I don’t have a problem with that, just with the fact you won’t know it unless you happen to inspect the ingredients list on the side panel. Dozens of other manufacturers’ products spell out the components of their meat right on the front label or panel.

Why isn’t Tyson doing so?

Recently, I voiced my concerns to Tyson Foods, and the only response they sent was that they would pass my concerns on to the quality control team. The company then mailed me a free coupon for the product in question.

I think I got blown off with Form Response No. 7B. What do you think?

Here’s the message I sent. . .

Dear Tyson Consumer Relations Team,

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing as a long-standing and loyal consumer of your Jimmy Dean product range, specifically the English Muffin Sausage, Egg & Cheese Sandwiches. I have appreciated and enjoyed your products for many decades, and they have been a staple in my household since Jimmy Dean introduced his line in the late 1960s.

However, I recently discovered some information on the packaging of this product that left me feeling disappointed and deceived. Upon scrutinizing the ingredients list, I learned that the sausage, as advertised on the front of the package, is not purely pork, as I had assumed, but also contains mechanically separated chicken. This was a surprise, as the product’s marketing and branding led me to believe I was consuming a higher-quality product.

I understand that Tyson is likely meeting all legal requirements in labeling. Still, the fact that this crucial information about the content of your sausage is not immediately visible or accessible to the consumer seems, frankly, deliberately deceptive. The information is tucked away in tiny print on one of the side panels, which many consumers, including myself, might easily overlook.

I find it disheartening that Tyson, a brand I have trusted for so long, seems to take such measures to hide the presence of what many consumers would consider to be a cheap filler meat in a premium product. Other manufacturers appear to have no issue with upfront disclosure about their product’s ingredients, leading me to wonder why Tyson opts for a different approach.

It feels to me like a betrayal of the quality and transparency that Mr. Jimmy Dean himself advocated when he marketed his products as “pure pork sausage.” I am sure I am not alone in feeling that Tyson has strayed far from this ideal.

I truly enjoy the Jimmy Dean English Muffin Sausage, Egg & Cheese Sandwiches, and I would like to continue purchasing this product. However, my personal principles dictate that I cannot support a product that I believe is deceptively marketed.

In conclusion, I hope you will take my feedback into account and consider making your product ingredients more transparent to consumers. I believe this action would enhance trust, increase consumer satisfaction, and align more closely with Jimmy Dean’s original values of quality and honesty.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Yours sincerely,

Leigh T. Hanlon