Is It Vegan? The Ingredient Checker Framework
The canonical framework for checking additives, enzymes, natural flavors, sugar, wine, bread, candy, cosmetics, and household products.
Start with the job of the ingredient
Ingredient questions need confidence levels: clearly vegan, clearly animal-derived, label-dependent, brand-dependent, or requires manufacturer confirmation.
Where Vegan Luck takes the reader next
Invite the reader into the free membership, then offer a tool-powered conversion, a credit pack, and pantry or equipment picks through WooCommerce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which ingredients are always animal-derived?
Common ones include gelatin, casein, whey, lactose, carmine (E120), shellac (E904), beeswax (E901), isinglass, lard, tallow, honey, lysozyme (E1105), and pepsin. If any of these appears, the product is not vegan.
Is lactic acid vegan?
Almost always, yes. Despite the name, lactic acid used in food is usually made by fermenting plant sugars and does not come from milk. It is different from lactose, which is milk sugar.
Are mono- and diglycerides vegan?
They can be made from plant oils or animal fats, and the label rarely says which. In an otherwise plant-based product they are often plant-derived, but only the manufacturer can confirm.
Is vitamin D3 vegan?
Usually not. Most vitamin D3 is made from lanolin, the grease from sheep’s wool, though a lichen-derived vegan D3 exists and is often labeled as such. Vitamin D2 is always non-animal.
What does E120 mean on a label?
E120 is carmine, also called cochineal or carminic acid, a red color made from crushed scale insects. It is not vegan.