Not veganAdditive
Is Gelatin vegan?
No — gelatin is boiled collagen from pig skin, cattle hide and bones.
148 ingredients that trip people up at the shelf — what they actually are, what to look for on the label, and the swap that does the same job.
No — gelatin is boiled collagen from pig skin, cattle hide and bones.
No — honey is made by bees for bees, so vegans avoid it.
Usually yes — plain bread is flour, water, yeast and salt. Eggs, milk, butter and L-cysteine are the common exceptions.
No — carmine is a red dye made from crushed cochineal insects.
Depends — some cane sugar is filtered through bone char from cattle bones.
Depends — some cask beers are clarified with isinglass from fish swim bladders.
No — whey is the liquid left when milk curdles into cheese.
No — casein is the main protein in cow's milk.
No — shellac is a resin secreted by lac insects and harvested with them.
Depends — L-cysteine dough conditioner can come from duck feathers, hog hair or fermentation.
Depends — this emulsifier can be made from plant oils or animal fat.
Depends — most D3 is from sheep wool lanolin, but lichen D3 is vegan.
Depends — fish oil is not vegan, but algae oil gives the same EPA and DHA.
Depends — "natural flavours" can legally include animal-derived extracts.
Yes, palm oil is vegan — but deforestation kills orangutans and other wildlife.
No — traditional rennet comes from the stomach lining of slaughtered calves.
Usually yes — commercial lecithin is nearly always soy or sunflower.
Depends — glycerin can be made from plant oils, petroleum or animal fat.
Usually no — the classic recipe is fermented with anchovies.
Depends — traditional kimchi is fermented with fish sauce or salted shrimp.
Depends — many wines are fined with egg white, casein, gelatin or isinglass.
No — beeswax is secreted by honeybees to build the hive.
Usually yes by ingredients, though the maker warns of milk cross-contact.
Usually yes above 70% cocoa, but many bars add milk fat or are made on dairy lines.
Usually no — classic marshmallows are set with gelatin.
No — collagen powder is made from cattle hide, bones or fish skin.
No — fish sauce is fermented anchovies and salt.
No — lanolin is grease squeezed from sheared sheep's wool.
Usually yes — commercial taurine in drinks and supplements is synthetic.
Yes — supplemental B12 is grown by bacteria, not taken from animals.
Depends — the potato is vegan, but the frying fat, coating and fryer are not always.
Usually yes — gelatin and carmine were removed years ago in most markets.
Usually yes — peanuts, salt and oil are plant foods; honey and omega-3 versions are the exceptions.
Usually yes — brewed soy sauce is soybeans, wheat, salt and koji mould.
Usually yes — chickpeas, tahini, lemon, garlic and olive oil are all plants.
Depends — dried Italian pasta is flour and water, but fresh pasta is usually made with egg.
Usually no — classic pesto Genovese contains parmesan and pecorino.
Usually no — naan is traditionally enriched with yoghurt, milk and sometimes ghee.
Usually yes — avocado, lime, onion, chilli and coriander are all plants.
Usually yes — it is boiled tree sap, though a little animal fat is used as a defoamer in some production.
Usually yes — classic Oreos contain no animal ingredients, but the pack warns of milk cross-contact.
Depends on the flavour — Original and Paprika are typically vegan; most cheese and meat flavours are not.
Depends — Chilli Heatwave and Lightly Salted are usually vegan; Cool Original/Cool Ranch and Nacho Cheese are not.
Depends — plain salted versions are usually vegan, but many flavours use milk or meat-derived flavourings.
Usually yes — the classic cracker uses vegetable oil rather than butter, but check for milk in flavoured versions.
Usually yes for the plain oat biscuit; the chocolate versions contain milk.
Depends — many plain digestives contain milk powder, though some own-brand versions do not.
Usually yes — hard pretzels are flour, water, yeast, oil and salt.
Depends — the corn is vegan, but 'butter' topping and some pre-seasoned kernels are dairy-based.
No — almost all Haribo sweets are set with pork gelatin.
No — Nutella contains skimmed milk powder and whey.
Depends on the market — UK Starburst is gelatin-free, US Starburst contains gelatin.
No — M&M's contain milk in both the chocolate and the shell glaze in most markets.
No — the standard Kit Kat is milk chocolate. Only the labelled Kit Kat V is vegan.
No — the cups contain milk and milk fat.
No — classic Twix has milk in the biscuit, the caramel and the chocolate.
Usually yes — the plain Thins share the classic recipe, but flavoured Thins vary.
No — Jelly Babies are gelatin-set and some versions add beeswax.
Depends — most classic wine gums use gelatin, though starch-set vegan ranges exist.
Depends — the chewy mints are often gelatin-free, but some fruit versions and gums differ.
Yes — Beyond Meat's retail range is fully plant-based.
Yes — Impossible products are vegan, though the soy leghemoglobin was tested on animals.
Depends — Quorn's mycoprotein is a fungus, but many classic products bind it with egg white.
Usually yes — seitan is wheat gluten, though some ready-made versions add egg or use meat stock.
Yes — tofu is soybeans, water and a mineral coagulant.
Yes — tempeh is whole soybeans fermented with a Rhizopus culture.
Usually yes — the range is vegan apart from a small number of egg-containing lines.
Yes — the entire Vivera range is plant-based.
Yes — the Meat-Free line is vegan, unlike the standard Richmond pork sausages.
Yes — Gardein's range is plant-based, mostly soy and wheat protein.
Yes — every Oatly product is plant-based, including the barista and yoghurt ranges.
Yes — Alpro's drinks, yoghurts and desserts are all plant-based.
Yes — Violife is a fully vegan cheese alternative brand.
Yes — the green-wax Babybel Plant-Based is vegan; the classic red one is not.
No — Parmigiano Reggiano is cow's milk cheese and is legally required to use animal rennet.
Yes — the Non-Dairy tubs are vegan; the standard tubs are not.
Yes — the Magnum Vegan bars use a pea protein base and dairy-free chocolate.
Yes — the oat-based Philadelphia is vegan; the original cream cheese is not.
Yes — nutritional yeast is a deactivated yeast grown on molasses.
No — whey is the liquid left over from cheese making, so it is a dairy product.
Yes — Coca-Cola's classic recipe contains no animal ingredients.
Yes — the taurine in Red Bull is synthetic, not bull-derived.
Yes — Guinness Draught has been isinglass-free since 2017.
Depends — the espresso is vegan, but many syrups, sauces and toppings contain dairy.
Usually yes — kombucha is fermented tea, though a few brands add honey.
Depends — juices fortified with omega-3 or vitamin D3 can contain fish oil or lanolin.
Depends on the country — UK and EU fries are vegan, US fries contain a beef-derived flavouring.
Depends — the Vegan Royale is certified vegan in the UK, while the plant-based Whopper is often flame-grilled with meat.
Usually yes without cheese and mayo — but check the bread and sauces.
Depends — several markets sell a vegan-labelled pizza, but the standard dough and sauces vary.
Depends — the UK Vegan Burger is certified vegan; the fries and gravy are not always.
Usually yes when ordered 'fresco' or without cheese and sauce.
Depends — a handful of vegan-marked items sit alongside a mostly dairy and egg menu.
Depends — Pret labels vegan items clearly and keeps a rotating plant-based range.
Yes — Sofritas is braised tofu, and the beans, rice, salsas and guacamole are plant-based.
Yes — the vegan sausage roll uses a Quorn-based filling in dairy-free puff pastry.
Depends — plain oat Cheerios are usually dairy-free but often fortified with vitamin D3.
Depends — the flakes are corn and malt, but vitamin D3 fortification is common.
Depends — same vitamin D3 question as Corn Flakes, plus regional gelatin use in some fortified cereals.
Usually yes — most sliced bread is flour, water, yeast, salt and oil.
No — a classic croissant is laminated with butter and glazed with egg.
No — a classic Caesar contains anchovy, egg yolk and Parmesan.
No — standard mayonnaise is emulsified with egg yolk.
Usually yes — Huy Fong sriracha is chilli, sugar, salt, garlic and vinegar.
No — traditional naan is made with yoghurt or milk and often brushed with ghee.
Usually yes — standard dried pasta is durum wheat semolina and water.
No — both the biscuit and the chocolate typically contain milk.
No — leather is animal skin, and it is a profitable co-product of the meat industry.
No — wool comes from sheep bred and shorn for it, and the flock is slaughtered when yields fall.
No — conventional silk is produced by boiling silkworms inside their cocoons.
No — down is plucked from ducks and geese, sometimes while the birds are alive.
Depends — glycerine can be made from animal fat or from vegetable oils.
Depends — stearic acid can come from tallow or from palm and other vegetable oils.
No — collagen powders are made from cattle hide, fish skin or chicken cartilage.
Depends — a product can be free of animal ingredients yet still be animal-tested.
Depends — most latex condoms use casein, a milk protein, as a softening agent.
Depends — some inks use bone char, glycerine or shellac, and aftercare often contains lanolin.
Depends — fish oil is not vegan; algae oil delivers the same EPA and DHA.
Depends — most hard capsules are gelatin, but HPMC (cellulose) capsules are vegan.
Depends — the active drug is usually synthetic, but coatings, capsules and lactose fillers may not be.
Depends — some vaccines are grown on egg or use gelatin as a stabiliser, but vegans are advised to take them.
No — bone char filters are made from charred cattle bones.
Depends — cats are obligate carnivores, so any plant-based diet must be formulated and vet-supervised.
Yes — figs are vegan, and the wasp story is more limited than the internet suggests.
Yes — commercial pollination uses bees, but that does not make the crop an animal product.
Depends — 'natural flavouring' can legally cover animal-derived extracts.
Usually yes — despite the name, commercial lactic acid is made by fermenting sugars.
No — oyster sauce is made from oyster extract.
Depends — most commercial Thai curry pastes contain shrimp paste or fish sauce.
No — both are bee products taken from the hive.
No — Ferrero Rocher contains milk powder and whey in the filling and shell.
No — Toblerone contains milk and honey.
Depends — several high-cocoa Excellence bars have no dairy ingredients, but most carry a milk warning.
No — the clue is in the name; only the Plant Bar range is vegan.
Depends — the dark bars are vegan, the milk and white bars are not.
Depends — a few unfrosted fruit flavours have no animal ingredients; frosted ones often use gelatin.
Depends — the Crunchy Oats & Honey bars contain honey; some other lines do not.
Depends — most Clif Bars are vegan, but several contain honey or milk-based protein.
Depends — most seasoning sachets contain pork, chicken, fish or dairy powder.
Depends — traditional refried beans are cooked in lard.
No — the batter is milk and egg, and it is usually cooked in beef dripping.
Depends — most mainstream protein bars use whey, milk protein or collagen.
Usually yes — commercial creatine monohydrate is synthesised, not extracted from meat.
Yes — supplement B12 is grown by bacterial fermentation, not taken from animals.
Usually yes — but some batteries, adhesives and leather cases involve animal products.
Depends — leather seats, steering wheels and gear knobs are common but almost always optional.
Usually yes — modern glues are synthetic polymers, though hide and bone glue still exist.
Depends — some paints use casein or shellac, and many brushes use hog or sable hair.
Check the ingredient list for animal-derived names and E numbers such as gelatin (E441), carmine (E120), shellac (E904), whey, casein and lanolin. When an ingredient is ambiguous — mono- and diglycerides, glycerine, natural flavour — the source can be plant or animal, so the manufacturer is the only reliable answer. Each page here lists exactly what to look for.
Gelatin in sweets and capsules, carmine in red drinks and yoghurts, whey and casein in crisps and bread, isinglass in some beers and wines, honey in cereals and sauces, and animal-derived vitamin D3 in fortified foods.
Not necessarily. 'Plant-based' is a marketing term with no legal definition in most countries and is sometimes used for products that still contain milk or egg derivatives. A certified vegan mark or a full ingredient check is more reliable.