Gelitan and Red 40 in candy?

Question

so i heard that vegetarians cant eat certain kinds of candy because they have Gelitan and Red 40 in them.

what exactly is gelatin and red 40 and where does it come from?

and if you buy candy with these things in them will it show it in the ingredients?

and what candy doesnt contain gelatin and red 40?

thanks.

=]

Answer 1

Gelatin is from the bones, connective tissues, and hides of animals.  It is not vegetarian.  It comes in gummy candies, Skittles, Starburst, some yogurts, and other foods.  You'll have to read the labels.

Sour Patch Kids, Mamba (a Starburst-like candy), and Twizzlers are vegan.

Red #40 is actually derived from coal tar.  It's vegan, but pretty icky.  It's in a LOT of things.

Both gelatin and other food colorings will be listed in the ingredients; by law, they must be listed.

Most conventional chocolate contains dairy, even the dark chocolate.

Check out Endangered Species Chocolate, Equal Exchange, Dagoba, Chocolove, Green & Blacks, etc.  Their dark chocolates are suitable for vegans.

Answer 2

Alrighty then.  The person who answered first isn't  too intelligent.  Gelitan used to be made of horse hooves.  It is now made of sheep shin bones and calf stomach.  It is not vegan or vegetarian.  As for the red 40 I don't believe that there is anything wrong with it.  Stay away from gelitan!!!

Answer 3

just about all candy will tell you what kind of colors it is made up of... the original gelatin recipe was made with horse hooves but that practice stopped a while ago and it is now synthetically made (i mean honestly do u really think that there is enough equine out there to make all that gelatin in stores, candy, jello, and numerous other things?) as for red 40... there are to many foods of to many kinds that use red 40... i wouldnt suggest this form of vegetarianism...

the gelatin thing is a misplaced believe that they still slaughter horses to make it... the hooves where in it because of the calcium not because they require actual hooves...

i applaud anyone who decides not to eat meat but best advice is to stick with your own beliefs and do research on it

Answer 4

Gelatin is the collagen of multiple animals' bones and no it is not synthetically made.

Any candy with a "hard coat" or anything chewy will have gelatin in it.

Honestly there is pretty much no candy vegans can have we are restricted by either gelatin or the fact that candy companies test on animals.

Avoid anything made by Mars, but Hershey is okay if you can find any of their products without animal products in them.

Answer 5

Gelatin is derived from animal bones--basically they boil them until the marrow floats to the top, skim that off, purify it, and dry it out into a powder.  I even know a lot of non-vegetarians who won't eat it.

Red 40 is sometimes made using red dye derived from insects.

If you buy candy with these products (at least in the U.S.),  it is required by law for the packaging to include the ingredient list, which would list these products (gelatin and/or red 40) there.

Both of these products can be consumed by vegetarians (who only abstain from meat products), but not vegans (who abstain from all animal products).

Most candies that are sugary and gummy/chewy (jelly beans, lollipops, twizzlers, etc) will have gelatin.  Anything that is colored red may have red 40 in it.

Hershey's chocolates do not contain gelatin or red 40 (unless, of course, you have those chocolate kisses with the cherry flavored filling!).

Hope this helps!