Sometimes it can be a bit tricky to tell whether a product is vegan or not. Here are a few tips on how you can feel more confident with the label check:
First off, always a big help: allergens are printed in bold. That includes animal ingredients like milk and eggs.
Is "may contain traces of..." still vegan? If something animal is only listed under traces, the product is still vegan. It just means the product comes from a factory that also works with the listed trace substances.
Typical animal ingredients you should keep on your radar:
- Butterfat / clarified butterfat
- Gelatine
- Ghee
- Casein
- Carmine
- Lanolin
- L-Cysteine
- Lecithin
- Milk powder
- Whey
- Rennet
- Tallow
Now it gets cryptic: some ingredients are also hidden behind mysterious E numbers. This is sometimes really tricky. These substances aren't necessarily from an animal source, but they can be. When in doubt, better leave it on the shelf.
- E 101 - Riboflavin
- E 120 – Carmine
- E132 – Indigotine, Indigo carmine
- E163 – Anthocyanins
- E 322 – Lecithin
- E631 – Disodium inosinate
- E 901 – Beeswax
- E 904 – Shellac
- E 1105 – Lysozyme
When in doubt, simple label scanner apps like: CodeCheck or the PETA app are also super helpful, especially when you're faced with chemistry equations like on some cosmetics.
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