Hidden Animal Ingredients

IslasLorax
IslasLorax Posts: 22
edited September 26 in Food and Nutrition
Hello fellow vegans, what are some hidden animal ingredients that you know about & can you explain why the byproduct is not vegan?

Thanks!

Replies

  • IslasLorax
    IslasLorax Posts: 22
    I can only think of the following offhand:

    Sugar - use of bone char for filtration process
    Glycerin - use of animal fat
    Lactic Acid - from animals (lactic acid in muscles)
    Casein - milk protein
  • _eislek_
    _eislek_ Posts: 198 Member
    I'm not sure about by-products, but I do have a few foods that contain animal ingredients that you would think would be vegetarian.

    McDonald's fries- flavored with seasoning containing beef
    Sour Cream- can't remember why
    Cheeto's- can't remember why again
  • PonyTailedLoser
    PonyTailedLoser Posts: 315 Member
    Very extensive listing at this website.

    http://www.veganwolf.com/animal_ingredients.htm
  • bmontgomery87
    bmontgomery87 Posts: 1,260 Member
    isn't stearic acid one?

    used in a lot of body washes and stuff i think?
    -
  • _eislek_
    _eislek_ Posts: 198 Member
    isn't stearic acid one?

    used in a lot of body washes and stuff i think?
    -

    Yup!
  • craftylatvian
    craftylatvian Posts: 599 Member
    Carmine, which is a colorant, is made from insects.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmine
  • Discojkay
    Discojkay Posts: 2 Member
    Sour cream is made with gelatin.

    I do believe that McDonalds has been pressured off using beef tallow for their fries, but other chains like Burger King ( at least last I heard) still use it.
  • IslasLorax
    IslasLorax Posts: 22
    Yuck! Didn't realize McD's fries had beef seasoning!

    I have a hard time looking at those lists because I don't know what foods they are in and I never remember them all ;) Although they are SUPER useful I'm looking for the most common or some real shockers (like McD fries).
  • IslasLorax
    IslasLorax Posts: 22
    Carmine, which is a colorant, is made from insects.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmine

    What is this most used in?
  • IslasLorax
    IslasLorax Posts: 22
    isn't stearic acid one?

    used in a lot of body washes and stuff i think?
    -

    Yup!

    Why stearic acid?
  • JennLifts
    JennLifts Posts: 1,913 Member
    Taco bell rice is cooked in I think chicken stock? I just know it's not vegan haha.
  • bmontgomery87
    bmontgomery87 Posts: 1,260 Member
    stearic acid can come from animal fat

    i remembered reading about it forever ago so i googled it
  • _eislek_
    _eislek_ Posts: 198 Member
    Sour cream is made with gelatin.

    I do believe that McDonalds has been pressured off using beef tallow for their fries, but other chains like Burger King ( at least last I heard) still use it.

    Good to know!
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
    I know these things are different in the States to the UK, McDonalds have used vegetable oil for their fries for years over here.

    The ones I watch out for are E471, which is mono and diglycerides of fatty acids, and is not vegetarian, gelatin, and rennet. Also cochineal (from beetles). It is much easier in the UK, I find, than any other country I have been to, as in supermarkets almost all products are marked if they are 100% vegetarian.
  • craftylatvian
    craftylatvian Posts: 599 Member
    Carmine, which is a colorant, is made from insects.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmine

    What is this most used in?

    Carmine, aka Crimson Lake and Natural Red #40, is used in foods like yogurt and juice and also in cosmetics and paints.

    Also, the candy cigarettes (remember those?) have beef gelatin in them.
  • IslasLorax
    IslasLorax Posts: 22
    I have heard the following aren't vegan but haven't researched why, does anyone know?

    Petroleum
    Parafin wax
    Canvas
  • _eislek_
    _eislek_ Posts: 198 Member
    I know these things are different in the States to the UK, McDonalds have used vegetable oil for their fries for years over here.

    The ones I watch out for are E471, which is mono and diglycerides of fatty acids, and is not vegetarian, gelatin, and rennet. Also cochineal (from beetles). It is much easier in the UK, I find, than any other country I have been to, as in supermarkets almost all products are marked if they are 100% vegetarian.

    Rennet! That's what is in Cheetos that makes them non-vegetarian!
  • ohohraptor
    ohohraptor Posts: 205 Member
    Edit: nevermind, someone else beat me to it!
  • jemmur
    jemmur Posts: 57 Member
    wine & beer :( isinglass or gelatin can be used in the fining process.

    it's a wee bit misleading to say sugar isn't vegan - as far as i know, using bone char is quite old fashioned and many brands are fine for vegans. obviously it gets difficult to confirm when unspecificed "sugar" is used as an ingredient in processed food though.

    IslasLorax - i'd hazard a guess that petroleum might not be vegan on the technicality that long, long ago, it was plankton and stuff. i don't actually know for sure though!
  • IslasLorax
    IslasLorax Posts: 22
    jemmur - sorry, i meant petroleum jelly, like vaseline. lol
  • chris0912
    chris0912 Posts: 242 Member
    I remember reading about the beef fat thing in McDonald's fries a while ago. While it's true that they stopped cooking the fries in animal products, they have replicated the flavor by adding something to the fries themselves. However, I'm not sure if they're adding "real" beef for the flavor or an artificial beef flavoring. The author of Fast Food Nation talks about being in a lab in NJ where the scientists open a test tube and it instantly smells like burgers cooking on a grill.
  • darkhorse43
    darkhorse43 Posts: 70 Member
    I know these things are different in the States to the UK, McDonalds have used vegetable oil for their fries for years over here.

    The ones I watch out for are E471, which is mono and diglycerides of fatty acids, and is not vegetarian, gelatin, and rennet. Also cochineal (from beetles). It is much easier in the UK, I find, than any other country I have been to, as in supermarkets almost all products are marked if they are 100% vegetarian.

    In America they stopped cooking in animal fat but they added beef as a flavoring so it would taste the same after changing to vegetable oil.
  • KZOsMommy
    KZOsMommy Posts: 854 Member
    McDs fries also have milk product in them. My daughter has a milk allergy and on their website it says contains milk. They said they soak them in milk before frying them.
  • _eislek_
    _eislek_ Posts: 198 Member
    wine & beer :( isinglass or gelatin can be used in the fining process.

    it's a wee bit misleading to say sugar isn't vegan - as far as i know, using bone char is quite old fashioned and many brands are fine for vegans. obviously it gets difficult to confirm when unspecificed "sugar" is used as an ingredient in processed food though.

    IslasLorax - i'd hazard a guess that petroleum might not be vegan on the technicality that long, long ago, it was plankton and stuff. i don't actually know for sure though!

    yeah about the sugar, the only brand that I know of that still uses bone char is Domino sugar.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories