Sour Patch Kids are a beloved candy for many people but if you’ve made the decision to eliminate animal products and byproducts from your diet including milk, eggs, cheese, meat, etc, you may be wondering if this candy is vegan? It may seem like a silly question but it’s really not because many candies that are stretchy and slightly gooey use gelatin (an animal product) to help create the texture. This is particularly true for candies like Starbursts and Jelly Beans.
Let’s first look at the ingredients of Original Sour Patch Kids:
- sugar
- invert sugar
- cane syrup
- modified corn starch
- tartaric acid
- citric acid
- natural and artificial flavors
- colorings: yellow 6, red 40, yellow 5, and blue 1
Therefore, original Sour Patch Kids are Vegan. While they may not be the healthiest option for you, they don’t have any animal ingredients or byproducts. But what about the other flavors??
Vegan Sour Patch Kids Varieties:
- Original Sour Patch Kids
- Sour Patch Kids Tropical
- Sour Patch Kids Mango
- Sour Patch Kids Watermelon
- Sour Patch Kids Berries
Non-Vegan Sour Patch Kids:
- Sour Patch Kids Extreme (contains lactic acid)
- Sour Patch Kids Xploderz (also contains lactic acid)
The natural and artificial flavors” are a grey zone. Have you contacted the manufacturer to ensure that all the flavorings used contain no animal (by)products?
I haven’t but I can see where you’re coming from.