Information › Ingredients › Vegan
Shopping vegan
‘Vegan’ and ‘plantaardig’ are not protected terms, but most supermarkets use a recognisable logo (V-Label, Vegan Society). Without a logo the label is the only source.
Recognising animal ingredients on the label
- Milk, egg, fish, crustaceans and molluscs are in bold as allergens: the quickest check.
- Hidden animal ingredients: gelatine, honey, lactose, whey, carmine (E120), shellac (E904), L-cysteine (E920, sometimes from feathers), vitamin D3 (often from lanolin).
- ‘Kan sporen van melk bevatten’ does not make a product non-vegan; it is about the factory.
How to shop vegan
- Exclude milk, egg, fish, crustaceans and molluscs together: that is the animal allergen set. Honey and gelatine you catch with a search term.
What this site does and does not do
We read the ingredient list and the allergen declaration as the supermarket publishes them, and hide every product that contains the allergen. Products without allergen information are hidden by default too: unknown is not the same as safe. What we cannot do is read the pack in the shop. Recipes change, and the information here can lag behind. When in doubt the label in your hand decides, and for questions about your health your doctor or dietitian.
More guides
E numbersWhat the numbers mean, and how to find a product without a given E number.Palm oilWhere palm oil is, and the names it goes by on the label.SugarSugar-free, low-sugar or no added sugar: three claims, three meanings.What is a food allergyWhat happens in your body, which symptoms belong to it, and the difference with an intolerance.Reading the labelBold, the order and the pitfalls: reading a label in ten seconds.May contain tracesWhat the warning does and does not say, and when to take it seriously.AnaphylaxisRecognising a severe allergic reaction, and what to do then.
Per allergen — milk, gluten, nuts, peanut and the rest.
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