Guide to Reading Food Labels as a Vegan

Before I got on the plant-based wagon, I used to think that being vegan was pretty straightforward. All you really had to do was avoid meat and dairy, right? Easy peasy. 

Imagine my surprise when I found out that animal-derived ingredients were sneaky and could hide in foods that looked safe from the outside. This unlocked a new fear: accidentally buying something non-vegan, especially when I realized that not every food item is stamped with the “vegan” logo. So, how would I ever know what was plant-based and what wasn’t? 

First, I panicked. Then, I realized that learning to read food labels was a surefire way of identifying whether something was vegan. Soon enough, I became a pro at it. And no, this did not include memorizing a long list of animal derivatives. In this guide, I’ll walk you through the process I always use so that you know what to look for when grocery shopping!

Look for the vegan logo or label

Sometimes, the labels explicitly mention if something is vegan, making our job much easier. You’ll see a logo or trademark (if the product has been certified vegan by an accreditation scheme) or just the words “suitable for vegans” plastered on the package. 

It’s worth noting that even products that aren’t actually and legally plant-based can also self-label themselves as vegan. But, only 100% vegan products can get a trademark (after going through a rigorous testing process). I bet you already know what I’m going to say next–trust the logos more than the self-labels.

Here are the most common trademarks to keep an eye out for:

• The Vegan Trademark by The Vegan Society: This internationally recognized label trademark contains a sunflower along with the words “vegan.” 
• The V-Label Trademark by V-Label: Look for a circular yellow label with a V and the word “vegan” underneath it.
• The ‘Vegan Approved’ Trademark by Vegetarian Society: You’ll find this trademark on plant-based products in the US, UK, and the EU. 
• The Certified Vegan Logo by Vegan Action: This logo indicates that a product is vegan and cruelty-free.
• The “Vegan Founded” Trademark by Vegan Founded: This organization certifies entire businesses (and even people) as vegan and cruelty-free rather than just products. So, if you see this trademark, you can be confident that you’re supporting a business that shares your values.
• The “Vegan Australia Certified” Trademark by Vegan Australia: Exclusively for Australian products.
• BeVeg Certification by BeVeg: In addition to certifying products as vegan, this ISO accredited global trademark also makes sure that the entire supply chain is in line with their standards and that there’s no cross-contamination.

Source: Vegan Business Tribe.

If you don’t see any vegan logos, move on to the next step.

Is the product vegetarian? 

Veganism falls under the umbrella of vegetarianism, so if you see the green dot or a vegetarian logo, there’s a good chance that the product is also free of any animal derivatives. 

As a next step, you’ll need to look closely at the ingredients and allergen information to see if any non-vegan ingredients are listed (more on this below). 

Check for allergy warnings

Food law (which is totally an actual thing, by the way) states that all food companies must include all the allergens found in the products on the labeling. In bold. If you do a quick scan of the ingredients list, all the allergens will pop out to you. If you see any non-vegan allergens, you’ll know that the product isn’t vegan.

According to the FDA, there are 9 major food allergens in the USA. I’ll include just the non-vegan ones here:

• Milk
• Eggs
• Fish
• Crustaceans (such as crab, lobster, prawn shrimp, etc.)

You may also see the following ingredients listed as allergens:

• Mollusks (such as oysters and mussels)
• Milk and egg by-products (such as whey, casein, and lactose)

Sometimes, instead of listing the allergens, manufacturers simply mention that the product is “free from” certain ingredients. But keep in mind that just because a food item is free from dairy doesn’t mean it’s vegan. So, it’s best to do a full scan of the ingredients list even if you don’t find any non-vegan allergens listed.

Watch out for these animal-derived ingredients

If you see any of the following animal-derived ingredients on the list, that’s a sure sign that the product is not vegan. 

Ingredient	Derived from	Found in
Albumin	Eggs	Cakes, baking mixes, cookies, candies, custard powder
Casein	Animal milk	Protein supplements, non-dairy creamers, vegetable milks, pudding
Beeswax	Bees	Baked goods, chewing gum
Bone char	Ashes of charred animal bones	White sugar
Carmine	Crushed female cochineal insects	Red food coloring
Collagen	Skin, bones, and connective tissues of animals	Supplements
Elastin	Neck ligaments and aorta of animals	Supplements
Isinglass	Swim bladder of fish	Clarified wine, beer, fruit juice
Cod liver oil	Cod fish	Vitamins, supplements
Lard and tallow	Animal fat	Fried and baked goods, cake mixes
Whey	Milk	Baked goods, protein supplements and bars
Gelatin	Boiled skin, tendons, ligaments, and bones of animals	Jams, marshmallows, puddings, cakes, candies (to thicken and add some glaze)
Honey	Honeybee food	Several foods as a preservative
Lactose	Animal milk	Baked goods, cream-based sauces, cereal, cake mixes
Shellac	Bodies of the female scale insect	Candies, glazed foods
Tagatose	Animal milk	Sweeteners, icings and frostings, cereals, soft drinks
Pepsin	Pig stomach	Vitamins, cheese
Propolis	Beehives	Toothpaste, supplements
Aspic	Clarified meat or fish	Glazed foods, jelly, jams
Lanolin	Oil glands of sheep	Chewing gum, cereals, fortified foods
Mono- and di-glycerides	Animal fat	Baked goods, chewing gum, candies
Musk (oil)	Genital secretions of wild cats, beavers, and deer	Food flavorings
Royal jelly	Throat glands of honeybees	Jelly
L-cysteine	Animal or human hair	Bread
Castoreum	Anal secretions of beavers (yikes!)	Food flavoring
Anchovies	Fish	Sauces, salad dressings

Or look up the E-numbers

If you’re in Europe, you might have noticed certain codes on the packaging that begin with E. Known as “Europe numbers,” these codes indicate food additives. Food labels across Europe contain these instead of listing the full ingredient. 

Here are the most common non-vegan E-numbers you need to look out for:

E-number	Non-vegan ingredient
E120	Carmine
E441	Gelatin
E542	Bone phosphate
E901	Beeswax
E904	Shellac
E910, E920, E921	L-cysteine and all of its derivatives
E913	Lanolin
E966	Lactitol (derived from lactose)

Keep your eyes peeled for animal-derived Vitamin D

Whether you’re buying vitamin D supplements or food fortified with it (such as vegan milk, cereal, orange juice, plant-based yogurt, margarine, etc.), it’s important to know that not all vitamin D is vegan-friendly. 

While vitamin D2 is always derived from plants, vitamin D3 can be either plant- or animal-derived. So, it’s important to check where your vitamin D comes from if you want to avoid all animal-derived products. If the product contains a vegan trademark, the vitamin is derived from plant-based sources such as lichens. You can also check the label to see if that food item has been fortified or contains vitamin D3 as one of its ingredients. If you don’t find any information about the source, there’s a tip in the section below. 👇

Contact the manufacturer

Alright, so you’ve checked for the vegan logo, gone through the ingredients list with a fine-toothed comb, and even googled the product–only to still be unsure if it’s vegan or not. And it’s a product that you really want to try, too. What do you do now? 

The only solution left is to go straight to the source. In other words, contact the manufacturer and ask them if it’s vegan. Look up their email (or phone number if it’s a local brand) and ask them directly. 

A few tips to remember when reading food labels

• Sometimes, you may see a warning on the packaging saying that the product “may contain” certain non-vegan ingredients. For example: may contain milk or traces of milk. Does that automatically make the product non-vegan? No. The warning is given when the products are manufactured in facilities where cross-contamination with allergens might accidentally happen. It’s just a way for companies to save themselves from lawsuits. So, if all signs (except this warning) point to a product being vegan? It’s vegan. Now, whether you want to support a product that’s made in a facility that processes non-vegan products or not is up to you. Just know that whatever decision you make is valid.
• A product that’s lactose-free isn’t automatically vegan. It can still have milk in it! But, what. Isn’t lactose a sugar found in milk? How, then, can a lactose-free product still contain dairy? Blame it on the advancement of science. There are some enzymes that break down the lactose in dairy products to make them safe for those with lactose intolerance to consume. So, even if a food item mentions that it’s lactose-free, you’re not saved from going through the steps to check if it’s also dairy-free and vegan. 🤷
• Some ingredients, such as glycerin, mono- and di-glycerides, lactic acid, and stearic acid, can be both animal- or plant-derived. If a product lists these as ingredients but doesn’t explicitly mention if they are plant-based or not, it’s best to contact the manufacturer. 
• Foods with no ingredients list are probably a safe bet since this indicates that they’re unprocessed or very minimally processed, making them whole (vegan) foods. 

While reading food labels as a vegan might seem a tad bit overwhelming at first, you’ll get used to it pretty soon. 

At Exploring Vegan, we believe that only you get to decide what being vegan means to you. If that includes being meat- and dairy-free without feeling the need to exclude animal-derived ingredients, that’s perfectly okay! And don’t you ever let anyone tell you otherwise.