UPDATE: Yale to add 'Israeli' back to dining hall label after realizing that 'Israeli couscous' is an 'actual ingredient'
'Authenticity of the food and naming of the recipes have been a concern brought to us by students in the past,' said a Yale spokesperson.
Yale University has reportedly promised to return the word “Israeli” to a dining hall nutrition label after it had been quietly removed as a descriptor of a “Couscous Salad with Spinach and Tomatoes” dish.
As images of the label without the word “Israeli” circulated on social media, Campus Reform reached out to Yale University to inquire whether dining staff had swapped out the grains in the dish or relabeled the same food– considering that Israeli couscous differs in size, texture, and production method.
A Yale University spokesperson told Newsweek that the word “Israeli” had originally been removed because of student concerns regarding country or ethnicity labels on dishes in general, but that in this case the word “Israeli” will be added back to the label, considering that ‘Israeli couscous’ is an “actual ingredient.”
SCOOP: This week @Yale changed the name of a popular food item in their dining halls which has been on the menu for years. It’s called “Israeli Couscous Salad” and they removed the word “Israeli.” Why would they do that?
Here’s the before and after: pic.twitter.com/PNhz3zB17k— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) December 12, 2023
”Authenticity of the food and naming of the recipes have been a concern brought to us by students in the past,” the spokesperson said. “There were times that they felt our food did not ‘authentically’ represent the country or ethnicity referenced in the name.
”To that end, our team made the decision to remove names of countries and ethnicities from recipes...In this case, Israeli Couscous is indeed an actual ingredient and is explicitly listed on the ingredient list. Considering it is the main ingredient, it is appropriate to remain in the title, and we will correct this oversight.”