Most peppermints look vegan on the label. But several popular brands hide gelatin, dairy, or animal-derived stearic acid in the fine print. Here's which peppermint brands are safe and which ones to skip. Are Peppermints Vegan? Vegan Peppermint Brands Not all peppermints are created equal. Here are the brands you can feel good about grabbing. YumEarth Organic Wild Peppermint YumEarth is certified vegan by The Vegan Society, USDA Organic, and free from the top 9 allergens. The ingredients are organic cane sugar, organic brown rice syrup, and natural peppermint oil. The organic sugar is never processed with bone char. If you want zero gray area, this is the safest pick. Simply Mints Peppermint Three ingredients: cane sugar, peppermint oil, calcium...

Jelly Belly jelly beans are one of the most popular candy brands in the world, showing up in candy bowls, Easter baskets, and movie theaters everywhere. But if you follow a vegan diet, you might be wondering whether these colorful little beans are safe to eat. The short answer: Jelly Bellys are not vegan. Here is why they miss the mark and what you can grab instead. So, Are Jelly Bellys Vegan? Jelly Bellys are coated with beeswax and shellac to give them their appealing shine. Beeswax is an animal product, and most vegans avoid it because they believe that collecting beeswax from hives is cruel. Shellac, on the other hand, is made from secreted beetle resin. When humans collect the...

Jolly Ranchers have been around since the 1950's, and are an extremely popular hard candy. However, anyone trying to follow a vegan diet should know whether Jolly Ranchers are compatible with a plant-based lifestyle. Are Jolly Ranchers Vegan? Jolly Ranchers vegan? Jolly Ranchers are often assumed to be a vegan treat. Some websites will claim that they are, in fact, vegan. But, upon further analysis, you will see that Jolly Ranchers are not technically safe for vegan diets. However, it really depends on how strict you are about it. Jolly Ranchers contain a couple of ingredients that can be derived from animals. One of these is lecithin, which can be derived from sunflower, corn, rice, and other plants. However, it...

Twizzlers are one of America's most popular licorice candy products. Licorice, so named for the root that gives the traditional black licorice its flavor, is commonly sold as black licorice or red licorice. Some might argue that Twizzlers bear little resemblance to actual licorice because it doesn't contain any licorice root or extract, though the non-licorice flavors may actually contribute to their popularity, especially with kids. Twizzlers come in a variety of flavors and shapes - Twists, Pull 'n' Peel, NIBS, Filled Twists, Bites in black, cherry, and even chocolate flavor. But are Twizzlers Vegan? Vegan foods are those that don't contain any animal products or byproducts. Candy, especially of the non-chocolate variety, may seem like an odd place for...

Are Reese's Pieces Vegan? Reese's Pieces are a fairly popular candy, a spin-off of the classic Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. They're quite tasty, and their hard outer coating means they won't melt all over your hands like the Peanut Butter Cups can. However, those of us who care about animal welfare and ethicality in food production, and express this passion by following a vegan diet, must not give in to a tempting food just because it tastes good—we must always check if the food is truly vegan before eating. Are Reese's Pieces vegan? Absolutely not. This follows a common trend of candies and confections containing animal products you might not suspect, like we've seen with the ingredients in caramel candy....

When you’re a vegan, it’s not always easy finding food at mainstream grocery stores. We can’t tell you how many times we’ve gone to the store expecting an item to be cruelty-free only to discover animal by-products in the ingredients. So, Are Fruit Gushers Vegan? The company who makes Fruit Gushers, General Mills, recently decided to let the public know what ingredients went into this popular fruit snack. What was the verdict? It turns out that Fruit Gushers don’t contain any animal by-products. Therefore, Fruit Gushers are vegan. Feelin' snacky? You can pick up some original vegan Gushers here. Let’s Talk About The Ingredients Unfortunately, finding vegan-friendly fruit snacks still isn't necessarily as simple as a quick jaunt down the...

One of the best parts about Spring time is getting to enjoy jelly beans. However, there are many jelly beans being made that are not vegan-friendly. Products that are vegan must have no ingredients that include animals or animal by-products. So, are starburst jelly beans vegan? Unfortunately, the Starburst brand of jelly beans does contain confectionery glaze. This type of glaze is widely used on candies to give them a shine. However, confectionery glaze is an insect by-product. Although these candies aren't vegan checkout these vegan friendly Jolly Rancher Jelly Beans! Many jelly beans lose any chance they have of being allowed in a vegan, or vegetarian diet, due to the inclusion of gelatin. Gelatin is an animal by-product which...

So, Are Haribo Gummy Bears Vegan? Gummy bears are a popular candy, and Haribo is one of the most well-known brands for this type of candy. However, just because a brand is a classic or is very well-known doesn't mean it's right for your diet. It's important to take a close look at all food labels to make sure they're vegan. Unfortunately if we take a look at the ingredients we can see that Haribo Gummy Bears are not vegan. But don't worry - here are is an organic vegan gummy bear alternative! Haribo Gummy Bear Ingredients Corn syrup Sugar Gelatin Dextrose Citric acid Corn starch Artificial and natural flavors Fractionated coconut oil Carnauba wax Beeswax coating Yellow 5 Red...

Are Starbursts Vegan? You remember unwrapping Starbursts- those juicy, fruity little squares as a child, trying out different flavor combos and fighting with your friends about which flavor was the best. But as a vegan, will you be able to relive these sweet memories? Are Starbursts vegan? Unfortunately Starbursts are not vegan as they contain gelatin. Read on for a Starbursts ingredients list, and a few healthier vegan starbursts alternatives! Starbursts Ingredients: CORN SYRUP SUGAR APPLE JUICE FROM CONCENTRATE GELATIN FOOD STARCH-MODIFIED CITRIC ACID PECTIN NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS COLORING (RED 40, YELLOW 5) Great if you're gluten-free, but not great if you're vegan or vegetarian. Gelatin Strikes Again Unfortunately, the ingredient which makes starbursts not vegan is gelatin. Gelatin...