In case you are not aware vegetarians don’t eat gum candy since most of them contain gelatine and sometimes carmine. Gelatine is a common ingredient in gums which is usually derived from an animal’s skin or bones. Carmine (a.k.a. crimson lake, cochineal, natural red 4, C.I. 75470, or E120) is the red colouring found in most food, drinks and cosmetics. This ingredient is produced by crashing or boiling cochineal insects. Since to get these ingredients, an animal has to be dead, this makes it not suitable for both vegetarians or vegans. For vegans it’s even harder, as most candy also contain beeswax.
One of the minor regrets I had about becoming vegetarian was this. Every packet of gum I picked had gelatine listed in the ingredients.
I nearly had given up hoping that there is the chance that I could find gelatine-free gums, until I remembered a German colleague sharing her packet of vegetarian Haribo Smurfs at work. So on my next trip to the supermarket, I searched for the Haribo stand to look for these gums.
In Malta one can find only two Haribo vegetarian products. Not much but always better than nothing.
There is a wider variety in Germany and luckily I’ve been blessed with a German boyfriend who was patient enough to look for and bring me some vegetarian and even vegan Haribo gums. ♥
Below you will find a document, which I have created, consisting of a list of all the veg-friendly Haribo gum candy I could find from blogs, forums and other sources. Please note that the Haribo Smurfs packet which is available in Malta is not gelatine free!
Click here to download list of vegetarian and vegan Haribo gums
DISCLAIMER: I wasn’t paid or asked to do this post. In my posts, even when items are given to me for free, I always list all pros and cons that I find no matter how close the company is to my heart. I confirm this unless stated otherwise on my review.
