Quick verdicts on 62+ common ingredients

Albumin

Albumin is egg white protein (or sometimes blood/serum protein). Not vegan.

Anchovies

Anchovies are small fish. Not vegan — and they hide in many foods.

Beeswax

E901

Beeswax is produced by bees to build honeycomb. Not vegan.

Butter

Butter is churned cream from cow's milk. Not vegan.

Carmine

E120

Carmine is a red dye made by crushing cochineal insects. Not vegan.

Casein

Casein is the main protein in cow's milk. Not vegan.

Cochineal

E120

Cochineal is the insect that carmine is extracted from. Same thing, same answer: not vegan.

Collagen

Collagen comes from animal bones, skin and fish scales. Not vegan.

Down & Feathers

Down comes from ducks and geese. Not vegan.

Eggs

Eggs are animal products. Not vegan, including 'cage-free' and backyard eggs.

Elastin

Elastin is extracted from animal connective tissue. Not vegan.

Fur

Fur is animal skin with hair attached. Not vegan.

Gelatin

Gelatin is made by boiling animal bones, skin and connective tissue. Not vegan.

Honey

Honey is produced by bees and most vegans do not consider it vegan because it is an animal product and commercial beekeeping harms bees.

Honeycomb

Honeycomb contains both honey and beeswax, neither of which is vegan.

Isinglass

Isinglass is a fining agent from fish bladders used to clarify beer and wine. Not vegan.

Keratin

Keratin in haircare comes from feathers, wool or horns. Not vegan.

Lactose

Lactose is milk sugar. Not vegan.

Lard

Lard is rendered pork fat. Not vegan.

Leather

Leather is animal skin. Not vegan.

Milk

Dairy milk from cows, goats or sheep is not vegan.

Pearl

Pearls form inside oysters or mussels. Most vegans avoid them.

Propolis

Propolis is 'bee glue' used to seal hives. Not vegan.

Royal Jelly

Royal jelly is a bee secretion fed to queen bees. Not vegan.

Shellac

E904

Shellac is a resin secreted by the female lac bug. Not vegan.

Silk

Silk is made by killing silkworms inside their cocoons. Not vegan.

Tallow

Tallow is rendered beef or mutton fat. Not vegan.

Whey

Whey is a milk byproduct from cheese making, so it is not vegan.

Wool

Wool is shorn from sheep. Not vegan due to industry practices and sheep slaughter.

Beer

Most modern beer is vegan, but some are filtered with isinglass (fish bladder).

Bone Char

Some white sugar is filtered through cattle bone char. Beet sugar and organic cane sugar are vegan.

Bread

Most plain bread is vegan, but watch for milk, eggs, honey, L-cysteine or whey.

Chitosan

Chitosan from shellfish shells is not vegan. Mushroom-derived chitosan is.

Chocolate

Dark chocolate is often vegan; milk chocolate is not. Always check the label.

Glycerin

E422

Glycerin can be plant-derived (vegan) or animal-derived (not vegan). Labels rarely say which.

L-Cysteine

E920

L-cysteine is often made from human hair, duck feathers or pig bristles — but a synthetic vegan version exists.

Lanolin

Lanolin is wax extracted from sheep wool. Most vegans avoid it because of wool-industry practices.

Lecithin

E322

Soy and sunflower lecithin are vegan. Egg lecithin is not.

Mono- and Diglycerides

E471

Emulsifiers that can come from plant or animal fats. Source is rarely disclosed.

Natural Flavors

'Natural flavors' is a catch-all that can include animal-derived ingredients like castoreum or beef extract.

Omega-3 (Fish Oil)

Fish-oil omega-3 is not vegan. Algae-based omega-3 is.

Rennet

Animal rennet comes from calf stomachs. Microbial and vegetable rennet are vegan.

Squalene

Squalene was historically harvested from shark liver. Plant-derived squalane is now common and vegan.

Stearic Acid

Stearic acid can be plant- or animal-derived. Source rarely listed.

Vitamin D3

Most vitamin D3 is made from lanolin (sheep wool), but vegan D3 from lichen exists.

Wax on Fruit

Fruit wax can be carnauba (vegan), beeswax or shellac (not vegan). Labels are vague.

White Sugar

U.S. cane sugar may be filtered through bone char. Beet sugar and organic cane sugar are vegan.

Wine

Many wines are fined with egg whites, casein, gelatin or isinglass. Look for vegan-certified wine.

Agar-Agar

E406

Agar-agar is made from seaweed. Always vegan.

Aspartame

E951

Aspartame is synthetic. Vegan (though sometimes debated due to historical animal testing).

Carrageenan

E407

Carrageenan is extracted from red seaweed. Vegan, though controversial for digestive health.

Guar Gum

E412

Guar gum is ground from guar beans. Always vegan.

High Fructose Corn Syrup

HFCS is made from corn. Always vegan.

MSG (Monosodium Glutamate)

E621

MSG is fermented from plant sources. Always vegan.

Nutritional Yeast

Nutritional yeast is a deactivated yeast — fully vegan and a B12 source.

Palm Oil

Palm oil is plant-based and technically vegan, but its environmental harm leads many vegans to avoid it.

Pectin

E440

Pectin is a plant fiber from fruit. Always vegan.

Seitan

Seitan is made from wheat gluten. Always vegan.

Soy Lecithin

E322

Soy lecithin is a plant-derived emulsifier. Always vegan.

Tempeh

Tempeh is fermented whole soybeans. Always vegan.

Tofu

Tofu is soybean curd. Always vegan.

Xanthan Gum

E415

Xanthan gum is fermented from bacteria on corn. Always vegan.