Sour patch kids- you immediately remember intense sour punch hitting your buds with tangy and tart soreness. Right? If you’re a vegan, the most popular concern for you will be, are sour patch kids vegan.
Stay tuned to a few fact checks on “Are sour patch kids vegan”.
What are Sour Patch kids?
Sour patch kids are a unique combination of sour and sweet flavours. A zesty interplay of sour and sweet makes it the most delicious and mouthwatering candy.
Sour patch kids were initially named as “Mars men” when they were introduced in 1970. Since their launch, sour patch kids have been transformed many times.
When Cabbage patch kids spiked the US market, Mars Men made a few alterations in their brand to make it specialized for Kids. They were named as Sour patch kids. Nowadays, Sour Patch Kids share the same company as Oreos – Mondelez.
Sour Patch Kids are famous all over the world due to their notorious sour taste. They are available in markets with different names like “Very bad kids” and “Maynard Sour patch kids” in France, the UK, and Canada, respectively. You can easily find them in your local markets.
Related: Are Oreos Vegan?
What are Sour Patch Kids made of?
Discussing the disparity are patch kids vegan, let’s explore which ingredients make sour patch kids mainly vegan. Sour patch kids in the US are made of natural and artificial vegan-friendly ingredients, including sugar, artificial flavours (yellow 5, yellow 6, red 40, and blue 1), corn syrup, tartaric acid, corn starch, and citric acid.
Let’s get to the bottom of each ingredient, shall we?
Ingredients of Sour Patch Kids:
1- Sugar:
Here comes the most controversial ingredient. People with a sweet tooth might have already known its origin. Well, for those who don’t know, sugar is obtained from sugar cane and sugar beets. Its origin is plant-based and a hundred percent vegan.
Now comes its processing, which offends most vegans. Sugar is converted into whitish crystals with the help of bone char. Bone char is derived from animal bones. There are a few chances of cross-contamination with non-vegan substances (bone char) during this procedure. Most sugars are processed the same way!
Sugar itself is vegan, but its processing with bone char makes it highly doubtful for vegans and vegetarians.
2- Corn Syrup:
Extracted from sugars packed in corn, fructose syrup gives a thick, gummy texture to sour patch kids. Light golden gummy texture makes it soft and extra delicious.
3- Invert Sugars:
Invert sugar is prepared by mixing dextrose and fructose to prevent the crystallization of sugary syrup in the manufacturing of sour patch kids.
4- Tartaric acid:
Here’s the most sour and mouth watering ingredient. Tartaric acid is derived from sour grapes, tamarind, and other sour fruits. You won’t wonder why kids love sour patch kids now, obviously due to its sour taste.
5- Citric Acid:
Enhancing the sour taste, citric acid makes the outer covering of sour patch kids. It is extracted from citrus fruits and lemons.
6- Artificial Flavours:
All ingredients of sour patch kids are not natural. You can not confidently consider sour patch kids as a natural fruit snack. Artificial flavors are produced from carboxylic acids. Artificial colours are yellow 5, yellow 6, red 40, and blue 1.
7-Titanium dioxide:
This white powder gives coloring to dark coloured sugar candy. Titanium dioxide is a mineral complex that is vegan-friendly. It is a major component of our patch water melons.
Are Sour Patch kids Vegan?
The question “are sour patch kids vegan” has been under intense debate. A few experts consider it totally vegan while others don’t call them vegan. Let’s explore the rationale behind this debate.
First, we will discuss why sour patch kids are vegan. All ingredients of sour patch kids are totally vegan. All varieties of these sugar coated candies have vegan components. They are free of milk, butter, honey, pork, and gelatin.
Now, let’s explore why some experts think sour patch kids are not vegan? The only culprit is “bone char”.
Bone char is obtained from the bones of animals. This substance is used in the filtration and refining of sugar during processing. This issue is concerning for some vegans as there is a risk of slight cross-contamination with animal by-products during this procedure. Others find it okayish as bone is not an ingredient of sour patch kids.
Finally, it is your personal choice whether you overlook tiny cross contaminants or avoid sour patch kids due to this reason. If we talk about sugars used in households, almost all sugars are refined and filtered the same way. If this fact doesn’t concern you and you’re comfortable with it, you can obviously consider sour patch kids as vegan Candies.
However, if you have allergies to animal products like bone char, you should not use sour patch kids. Consider other healthy vegan-friendly snacks.
Related: Is Caramel Vegan?
Which flavors of Sour Patch Kids are vegan?
All flavours of Sour patch kids are vegan if refining sugar with bone char doesn’t concern you. All ingredients of sour patch kids are vegan.
If you’re looking for different flavours of Sour patch kids in the United States, you can find the following varieties on shelves of your nearby markets:
- Sour Patch Xploderz
- Bites Original
- Sour Apple Sour Patch Kids
- Sour Patch Connectors
- Tropical Sour Patch Kids
- Peach Sour Patch
- Big Kids
- Blue Raspberry Sour Patch
- Xmas Sour Patch Kids
- Watermelon Sour Patch Kid
- Cherry Sour Patch
- Bunnies Candy (Easter Edition)
- Sour Patch Bunnies
- X-Treme Sour Patch
- Heads, 2 Flavors in One
- Sour Patch Chillerz
- Zombie Sour Patch Kids
- Sour Patch Line Ups
- Crush Soda Fruit Mix
- Extreme
- Bites Watermelon
Non-Vegan Sour Patch Kids:
A few varieties of sour patch kids are Non-Vegan. They contain milk, eggs, and other ingredients that vegans might want to avoid.
These flavors are:
- Watermelon Jelly Beans
- Light Ice Cream & Sorbet
- Yoplait Sour Patch Kids Go-Gurt
Light icecream and Sorbet have milk and whey. While Yoplait contains milk and gelatin, it is non-vegan sour patch kids.
Are Sour patch kids gelatin free?
Yes, Sour patch kids are gelatin-free. Their ingredients do not include gelatin, as it is an animal by-product. Vegan sour patch kids are free of gelatin, milk, pork, and eggs.
Are Sour Patch kids dairy free?
Yes, Sour Patch Kids are dairy-free. They do not contain milk or any dairy products. Sour patch kids are vegan, so all vegan-friendly candies are dairy-free.
Do Sour Patch Kids have eggs?
No, Sour Patch Kids do not contain eggs. They are completely free of eggs, gelatin, pork, milk, and animal by-products.
Which Sour Patch kids have gelatin?
Sour Patch Kids do not contain gelatin and are vegan-friendly. Gelatin is an animal by-product obtained from the skin, bone, and flesh of animals. Vegans prefer to avoid gelatin. However, most flavors of Sour Patch Kids do not contain gelatin.
Only Sour Patch Kids yogurt flavour contains gelatin. You can also check the list of ingredients while purchasing your candies. Most gummies and candies except sour patch kids contain gelatin.
Are Sour Patch watermelon vegan?
Sour patch watermelon are vegan friendly. Ingredients of sour patch watermelon are exactly the same as sour Patch kids except for titanium dioxide. It is also a vegan friendly mineral. So, finally sour patch kids are vegan.
Are Sour patch kids vegan in the US?
Yes, sour patch kids are vegan in the US. All ingredients of sour patch kids in the US are vegan. Some experts do not agree because sugar processing during manufacturing of sour patch kids involves bone char.
Are Sour Patch kids halal?
Sour patch kids are halal. They are free of gelatin, pork, and alcohol. They have a halal stamp which means they are certified halal products.
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