In this post, we’ll dig into the full ingredients in Starburst Jelly Beans to definitively answer – Are Starburst Jelly Beans Vegan?
Let’s get to it!
Are Starburst Jelly Beans Vegan?
Firstly, note we are not talking about Starburst chews, but Starburst Jelly Beans specifically.
Starburst Jelly Beans are NOT vegan.
This is because they have many ingredients which are not vegan or potentially not vegan.
Here’s the list of ingredients:
Are Starburst Jelly Beans Ingredients Vegan?
The ingredients below are marked in bold and red:
- Bold = Animal product – Not Vegan
- Red = Not an animal product, but tested on animals – Not Vegan
- Underlined = Borderline Not Vegan
Sugar, Corn Syrup, Modified Corn Starch; Less than 2% of: Citric Acid, Acacia, Sodium Citrate, Apple Juice from Concentrate, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Confectioner’s Glaze, Carnauba Wax, Colors (Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Titanium Dioxide), Beeswax.
Here’s why these ingredients have been picked out as not vegan:
Sugar
Sugar is vegan, but many manufacturers use bone char to process the sugar. Sugar that has the USDA hallmark is vegan friendly but the rest are usually not. For more on that, see this post:
10 Surprisingly Not Vegan Foods Hiding In Your Shopping Basket
Artificial Flavours
This one is tricky, because its a “catch all” term covering more than 100 different additives.
Animal fats are often used during manufacturing process as Oleic Acid is used as a defoaming agent and its derived from animal fat.
Confectioners Glaze
Confectioners Glaze is made from an amber coloured resin from the female lac beetle. It’s the ingredient that makes candy shine and is actually the same ingredient in fake nails (where its called shellac).
Red 40 (E129)
Red 40 is made with petroleum byproducts or coal tar, but its tested on animals including mice, rats and caterpillars.
Yellow 5
Yellow 5 is tested on mice and rats, who are sadly killed at the end of the studies.
Yellow 6
Yellow 6 is is tested on rabbits, mice and rats
Blue 1 (E133)
Blue 1 is tested on mice, rats and dogs. The dogs were horrifically fed dye until it caused them to die, just so scientists could find the maximum ingestion point.
Beeswax
Beeswax comes from melting honeycomb which bees create to store honey for their young.
Are Starburst Jelly Beans Gluten Free?
Starburst Jelly Beans are gluten free.
Are Starburst Jelly Beans Halal?
Starburst Jelly Beans are not halal because they contain Confectioner’s Glaze which is considered khabith (filthy).
Vegan Starburst Jelly Bean Alternatives
There are many vegan jelly beans available, here’s the best of them all:
