Shopping and labels
How do you tell if a product is vegan?
Short answer
Most reliably by a certification (for example V-Label or The Vegan Society trademark) or by an ingredient list without meat, fish, dairy, eggs, honey and animal-derived additives (gelatin, carmine, whey, casein). Words like “veggie”, “plant-based” or “natural” on the front are not enough.
How to read the ingredients: in the EU, allergens (such as milk, eggs, fish, crustaceans) are highlighted, for example in bold – the quickest filter, but not the only one. Learn a few keywords: whey, casein, lactose, gelatin, honey, E120 (carmine), E904 (shellac), L-cysteine (E920), vitamin D3, and natural flavouring in ambiguous products.
“May contain milk/eggs” is an allergy warning about possible traces from the production line, not an ingredient. Whether to buy such products is a personal decision.
Scanning apps help but can be out of date. No logo does not mean a product is not vegan – sometimes the producer simply does not pay for certification.