There are some foods that are obviously non-vegan, but what about the sneaky ones? Take a look at the top ten foods that may not be vegan.
- Miso Soup & Sushi: You may think miso is vegan, but most are not as they contain fish broth. However, many sushi restaurants can make a vegan version for you. Some (but not all) sushi restaurants add mayonnaise to their avocado or cucumber sushi rolls that contains egg so check before you buy.
- Garlic paste: That tube of garlic paste you buy at the grocery store to use in your stir fry and dinner may also contain milk product (whey) Check the label of the brand you buy!
- Soy based yogurt and cheeses: Many of these products contain milk-based protein called casein.
- Veggie burgers: Lots of veggie burgers contains eggs or dairy so make sure to read the label. The Linda MCartney range is an example, many of these products are vegan, but some do contain cheese.
- Quorn products: Quorn is a meat alternative containing mycoprotein made from a fungus in the soil known as ‘fusarium venenatum’. Any quorn products that are vegan and will state this on the product, however some contain egg so it’s important to check the label. For example, Quorn mince is not vegan as it contains egg yolk.
- Bread: Most breads are fine as a simple recipe for most breads includes flour, water, salt & yeast along with fortified nutrients like folic acid and iodine. Some breads include other ingredients like fats or sweeteners that could be of animal origin. The 3 ingredients that are usually (but not always) vegan include:
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- Mono and diglycerides: these are types of fats used as emulsifiers to improve texture in the bread and retain moisture. They are often derived from soybean oil but can also be sourced from animal fats
- Lecithin: Another emulsifier usually derived from soybeans but it can also come from egg yolks. Unless the bread is certified vegan there is a chance it may not be if it contains any of these 3 ingredients, so if you are unsure then its best to avoid bread containing these ingredients.
- Other ingredients to watch out for include eggs, honey, royal jelly, gelatin, buttermilk, whey or casein (and of course milk or butter or eggs)
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- Sweets/Lollies: Many sweets like marshmallows, snakes, jelly beans etc contains gelatin. Gelatin is derived from animal collagen. Some are thickened though with agar-agar which is a vegan alternative.
- Jelly: Most jelly contains an ingredient called beef gelatin which is made by prolonged boiling of skin, cartilage, and bones from animals, usually from pork skins, horns and cattle bones- hungry anyone?!
- Beer & Wine: Many are surprised with this one: Although wine is made from grapes, during the winemaking process the liquid is filtered through ‘fining agents. This is to remove protein, yeast, and cloudiness. Popular fining agents includes blood and bone marrow, casein (which is a milk protein), isinglass (which is a gelatin from fish bladder membranes) and gelatin (from boiling animal parts) none of which are vegan. The good news is that you don’t have to give up wine! There are several fining agents that are vegan friendly and used to make wine such as carbon, bentonite clay, limestone, kaolin clay, plant casein, silica gel and vegetable plaques. Unless it states it’s a vegan wine on the label, its best to do a search online of vegan wines in your area. Some beers contain isinglass, gelatin, glycerin or casein which are all animal derived products.The good news is the following beers are animal free: Budweiser and Bud light, Coors and coors light, Guinness is vegan since 2018 (used to use isinglass which is a substance obtained from the dried swim bladders of fish -a form of collagen) Carlsberg and many more. For a more comprehensive list check out PETA here.
- Crackers/potato chips: These can contain milk/cheese powder, butter, or butterfat. Check the label!
