What Are Vegan Ingredients, and What Aren’t?

It’s important to read the ingredient lists of any product that you purchased for personal use if you’re a vegan. Animal products can often show up in sneaky ways. Since vegans avoid animal products of any kind, it can be very difficult to find processed foods that are completely free of non-vegan ingredients.

Some of the most common items showing up as ingredients not compliant with a vegan diet include beeswax and honey, milk byproducts like casein, gelatin products, confectioners’ glaze, beer and wine isinglass, whey in sweet and bread products, and L.cysteine.

What Can’t Vegans Eat?

Veganism is a form of a vegetarian diet that excludes dairy products, eggs, meat and any other ingredients that are derived from animals. Plenty of vegans also avoid eating any foods that are processed using animal products, such as some wines or refined white sugar. Many vegans extend this definition to all of their personal care products, as well as their clothing.

What Do Most Vegans Eat?

A vegan diet includes legumes, greens, fruits, vegetables, beans, and the combination of foods that can be created from those items. Additionally, many manufacturers have created vegan versions of familiar foods and this trend has led to many new products on the market.

What Is Vegan Product Mislabeling?

Vegans often rely on ingredient lists and food labeling to determine appropriate items for them to buy to be in compliance with their vegan diet. Any non-vegan ingredients could lead a vegan to accidentally ingest or use an item that they never intended to purchase.

In some cases, these consumers are eligible to pursue lawsuits against companies for mislabeling. The use of any animal-derived ingredients that are not properly included on the label could constitute false advertising or mislabeling.

Are There Laws About Mislabeling?

Currently, several states have laws related to claims that only foods made out of animal flesh should have labels with terms like “burger” or “meat.” Makers of many plant-based foods have fought back against these laws, according to an NPR report.

Where most mislabeling issues could come from, however, is when a person buys a product labeled as vegan but later discovers that some animal-derived ingredient is in the item. A Georgia man recently filed a class action lawsuit against Burger King alleging the chain advertises the Impossible Burger as vegan, but grills the patties next to meat patties, potentially coating them in animal products.

Do I Have Any Rights if I Purchased a Product Labeled as Vegan but Wasn’t?

Some consumers might have purchased a product that was labeled as having vegan ingredients but contained non-vegan ingredients or was cooked in a non-vegan manner. This can lead to lawsuits filed as a result of skincare, cosmetics, beverage and food products mislabeled in this manner.

In these cases, it’s important for customers to keep the product in question and the labels and packaging that came with it.

The term “plant-based” has also come up in complaints from vegan and animal rights organizations, especially if any of the final product or the manufacturing process involves something that is derived from animals.

As an example, the In Defense of Animals Organization has called out Tyson Foods for their use of “plant-based” on a product similar to chicken nuggets because the organization believes that it’s misleading.

Join a Free Vegan False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you purchased a product that was advertised as vegan but included animal based ingredients, you may qualify to join this vegan labeling class action lawsuit investigation.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.