Animal ingredients and products are hidden in so many products, it is hardly possible to completely avoid them, especially when they are named an E-number. This list may help you knowing what you buy.
Below ingredients are from this list is The Vegan Society‘s website.
Glossary of animal substances
* indicates that non-animal (synthetic, vegetable or plant/mineral-derived) versions/sources by the same name are known to exist.
• albumen/albumin egg white Use: food binder
• alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) * naturally occurring chemicals derived from fruit or milk Use: cosmetics
•ambergris morbid concretion obtained from the intestine of the sperm whale used in perfumes and cigarettes
• amino acids * ‘building blocks’ of proteins
• amniotic fluid fluid surrounding the foetus within the placenta Use: cosmetics
• amylase * enzyme in saliva and pancreatic juice
• anchovy small fish of the herring family, often an ingredient of Worcester sauce and pizza toppings Use: flavour enhancer
• angora fibre obtained from rabbits or goats Use: clothing
• aspic savoury jelly derived from meat and fish Use: glazing agent
• astrakhan skin of stillborn or very young lambs from a breed originating in Astrakhan, Russia Use: clothing
• beeswax * (E901) secreted by bees to produce combs Uses: furniture- and floor-polishes, candles, cosmetics
• bone/bonemeal animal bone Uses: horticultural fertiliser, bone-china ornaments, crockery, supplements
• brawn boiled meat, ears and tongue of pig Use: foodstuff
• bristle * stiff animal hair, usually from pigs Use: brushes
• calcium mesoinositol hexaphosphate Uses: baked goods, soft drinks, processed vegetables
• capiz shell Use: lampshades
• carmine/carminic acid (E120) red pigment obtained from cochineal Uses: food and drink dyes
• casein milk protein Use: cheese
• cashmere fine wool from the cashmere goat and wild goat of Tibet Use: clothing
• castoreum obtained from the anal sex gland of the beaver Use: fixative in perfumes
• catgut dried and twisted intestines of the sheep or horse Uses: stringed musical instruments, surgical stitching
• caviar(e) roe of the sturgeon and other fish Use: a relish
• charcoal * charred bone or wood Use: clarifying agent
• chitin organic base of the hard parts of insects and crustaceans e.g. shrimps, crabs Uses: conditioners and skin-care products, thickener and moisturiser in shampoos
• chamois soft leather from the skin of the chamois antelope, sheep, goats, deer etc. Use: cleaning cloth
• cholecalciferol see vitamin D3
• cholic acid (E1000) extracted from the bile of cows Use: emulsifier
• civet substance scraped from glands in the anal pouch of the civet cat Use: fixative in perfumes
• cochineal (E120) dye-stuff consisting of the dried bodies of scale insects, used for making carmine Uses: red food and drink colouring
• cod-liver oil oil extracted from the liver of cod and related fish Uses: food supplement
• collagen constituent of connective tissue which yields gelatin(e) on boiling Uses: cosmetics, sausage skins, supplements
• coral hard calcareous substance consisting of the continuous skeleton secreted by coelenterate polyps for their support and habitation Uses: jewellery, ornaments
• deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) * controls protein synthesis/stores genetic information. Found in all animal and plant cells Uses: cosmetics, genetically modified organisms, shampoos
• down underplumage of fowls (especially duck and goose) Uses: filling quilts, pillows, sleeping bags, padded clothing
• dripping melted animal fat Use: frying
• eider down small, soft feathers from the breast of the eider duck Use: filling quilts
• elastin protein uniting muscle fibres in meat Use: moisturiser in cosmetics
• fatty acids * organic compounds: saturated, polyunsaturated and unsaturated
• feather epidermal appendage of a bird Uses: fashion accessory, feather dusters
• felt * cloth made of wool, or of wool and fur or hair Use: clothing
• gelatin(e) jelly obtained by boiling animal tissues (skin, tendons, ligaments etc.) or bones Uses: confectionery, biscuits, capsules, jellies, photographic film, match heads (note, in some food gelatin can be replaced by agar agar)
• glycerin(e)/glycerol (E422) * clear, colourless liquid which may be derived from animal fats, synthesised from propylene or from fermentation of sugars Uses: solvent for flavours, texture improver, humectant
• hide animal skin (raw or tanned) Uses: clothing and footwear, clothing accessories, upholstery
• insulin * pancreas of cattle, sheep or pigs Use: managing diabetes
• isinglass very pure form of gelatin(e) obtained from the air bladders of some freshwater fish, especially the sturgeon Uses: clarifying alcoholic drinks, jellies
• keratin protein found in hair, horns, hooves and feathers Uses: shampoos and conditioners, fertiliser
• L’cysteine hydrochloride (E920) * manufactured from animal hair and poultry feathers or synthetically from coal tar Uses: shampoo, improving agent for white flour
• lactitol (E966) produced from milk sugar Use: sweetener
• lactose milk sugar Uses: tablet filler, sweetener, carrier for flavouring agents, especially in crisps
• lanolin(e) * fat extracted from sheep’s wool and hide Uses: cleaning products, an emollient and emulsifier used in cosmetics, especially lipsticks
• lard fat surrounding the stomach and kidneys of pigs, sheep and cattle Use: culinary
• leather tanned hide (mostly from cattle but also sheep, pigs, goats etc.) Uses: clothing and footwear, clothing accessories, upholstery
• lecithin (E322) * fatty substance found in nerve tissues, egg yolk, blood and other tissues, mainly obtained commercially from soya bean, peanut and corn Uses: emulsifier in baked goods and confectionery
• lutein (E161(b)) * deep-yellow substance found in egg yolk, obtained commercially from marigold Use: food colouring
• lysozyme (E1105) * enzyme which may be derived from eggs Use: preservative
• mohair cloth or yarn made from the hair of the angora goat Use: clothing
• musk * substance secreted by glands of the male musk deer Use: perfume
• oleic acid * fatty acid occurring in animal and vegetable fats Uses: soaps, cosmetics, ointments
• oleoic oil liquid obtained from pressed tallow Use: margarines
• oleostearin solid obtained from pressed tallow Uses: soap and candles
• oestrogen * female sex hormone from cow ovaries or pregnant mares’ urine Uses: cosmetics, body-building supplements, hormone creams
• parchment * skin of the calf, sheep or goat, dressed and prepared for writing etc.
• pearl (‘Mother of’, or ‘cultured’) concretion of layers of pain-dulling nacre formed around a foreign particle within the shell of various bivalve molluscs, principally the oyster Uses: jewellery and decorative
• pepsin enzyme found in gastric juices Use: cheese making (NOTE: plus supplements)
• placenta organ by which the foetus is attached to the umbilical cord Use: cosmetics
• progesterone * sex hormone Use: hormone creams
• propolis bee glue, used by bees to stop up crevices and fix combs to the hive Uses: toiletries and cosmetics
• rennet * extract of calf stomach containing the enzyme rennin which clots milk Uses: cheese, junkets
• reticulin one of the structural elements (together with elastin and collagen) of skeletal muscle
• ribonucleic acid (RNA) * see deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
• roe eggs obtained from the abdomen of female fish Use: a relish
• royal jelly food on which bee larvae are fed and which causes them to develop into queen bees Use: food supplement
• sable fur from the sable marten, a small carnivorous mammal Uses: clothing, artists’ brushes
• shellac (E904) insect secretion Uses: hair spray, lip sealer, polishes, glazing agent
• silk cloth made from the fibre produced by the larvae (silk worm) of certain bombycine moths, the harvesting of which entails killing the insect Uses: clothing, cosmetics
• sodium 5′-inosinate occurs naturally in muscle, prepared from fish waste Use: flavour enhancer
• sperm oil oil found in the head of various species of whale Use: candles
• spermaceti wax fatty substance found mainly in the head of whales and dolphins Uses: medicines, candles, cosmetics
• sponge * aquatic animal or colony of animals, characterised by a tough elastic skeleton of interlaced fibres Use: bathing aid
• squalene/squalane * found in the liver of the shark (and rats) Uses: toiletries and cosmetics
• stearate * salt of stearic acid Use: body-building supplements
• stearic acid (E570)* organic acid prepared from stearin
• stearin(e) * general name for the three glycerides (monostearin, distearin, tristearin), formed by the combination of stearic acid and glycerin; chiefly applied to tristearin, which is the main constituent of tallow and suet Uses: medicines, skin softener in toiletries and cosmetics
• suede * kid-, pig- or calf-skin, tanned Uses: clothing and footwear
• suet * solid fat prepared from the kidneys of cattle and sheep Use: cooking
• tallow hard animal fat, especially that obtained from the parts around the kidneys of ruminants Uses: soap, candles
• taurine * amino acid
• testosterone * male hormone Use: body-building supplements
• urea * nitrogenous waste formed in the liver and excreted by the kidneys Use: toiletries and cosmetics
• vellum * fine parchment prepared from the skins of calves, lambs or kids Use: writing material
• vitamin A * (retinol) derived from fish-liver oil or egg yolk Uses: cosmetics, food supplement
• vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) vitamin derived from lanolin or fish oil Use: vitamin and food supplements (note: there are some raw D3 supplements on the market)
• velvet * fabric made of silk, cotton, rayon or nylon Use: clothing
• volaise ostrich meat
• whey residue from milk after the removal of the casein and most of the fat, by-product of cheese making Uses: margarines, biscuits, crisps, cleaning products
• wool hair forming the fleecy coat of the domesticated sheep and similar animals Uses: clothing including felt, mattresses.
Additives
Animal-derived additives
• E120 (CI75470) carmine/cochineal • E542 edible bone phosphate • E901 beeswax • E904 shellac • E913Lanolin • E966 Lactitol • E1000 Cholic Acid • E1105 Lysozyme • calcium mesoinositol hexaphosphate •lactose • sperm oil • spermaceti
Possibly animal-derived
• E101 riboflavin, lactoflavin, vitamin B2
• E101a riboflavin 5′-phosphate
• E153 (believed animal-free version only may be used in food) carbon black, vegetable carbon
• E161(b) lutein (note: according to Chemical Maze and Wikepedia lutein is produced by plants)
• E161(g) canthaxanthin
• E236 formic acid
• E237 sodium formate
• E238 calcium formate
• E304 Fatty acid esters of ascorbic acid, ascorbyl palmitate and ascorbyl stearate
• E322 lecithin
• E325 sodium lactate
• E326 potassium lactate
• E327 calcium lactate
• E304fatty acid esters of ascorbic acid, ascorbyl palmitate and ascorbyl stearate
• E422 glycerol (glycerine)
• E430polyoxyethylene (8) stearate, polyoxyl (8) stearate
• E431 polyoxyethylene (40) stearate, polyoxyl (40) stearate
•E432 polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate, polysorbate 20, tween 20
• E433 polyoxyethylene sorbitan mono-oleate, polysorbate 80, tween 80
• E434 polyoxyethylene sorbitan monopalmitate, polysorbate 40, tween 40
• E435polyoxyethylene sorbitan monostearate, polysorbate 60, tween 60
• E436 polyoxyethylene sorbitan tristearate, polysorbate 65, tween 65
• E442 glycerol
• E470(a) sodium, potassium and calcium salts of fatty acids
• E470(b)magnesium salts of fatty acids
• E471 glycerides of fatty acids, glyceryl monostearate, glyceryl distearate
•E472(a) acetic acid esters of glycerides of fatty acids, acetoglycerides, glycerol esters
• E472(b) lactic acid esters of glycerides of fatty acids, lactylated glycerides, lactoglycerides
• E472(c) citric acid esters of glycerides of fatty acids
• E472(d) tartaric acid esters of glycerides of fatty acids
• E472(e) mono and diacetyltartaric acid esters of glycerides of fatty acids
• E472(f) mixed acetic and tartaric acid esters of mono- and di-glycerides of fatty acids
•E473 sucrose esters of fatty acids
• E474 sucroglycerides
• E475 polyglycerol esters of fatty acids
• E476polyglycerol esters of polycondensed fatty acids of castor oil, polyglycerol polyricinoleate; polyglycerol esters of dimerised fatty acids of soya bean oil
• E477 propylene glycol esters of fatty acids; propane-1,2-diol esters of fatty acids
• E478 lactylated fatty acid esters of glycerol and propane-1,2-diol
• E479(b) thermally oxidised soya bean oil interacted with mono- and di-glycerides of fatty acids
• E481 sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate
• E482 calcium stearoyl-2-lactylate
• E483 stearyl tartrate
• E491 sorbitan monostearate
• E492 sorbitan tristearate, span 65
•E493 sorbitan monolaurate, span 20
• E494 sorbitan mono-oleate, span 80
• E495 sorbitan monopalmitate, span 40
• E570 fatty acids (including myristic, stearic, palmitic and oleic), butyl stearate
• E572 magnesium salts of fatty acids (including magnesium stearate); calcium stearate
• E585 ferrous lactate
• E626 guanylic acid
• E627guanosine 5′-disodium phosphate, sodium guanylate, disodium guanylate
• E628 dipotassium guanylate
• E628calcium guanylate
• E631 inosine 5’-disodium phosphate, sodium 5′-inosinate
• E632 dipotassium inosinate
• E633calcium inosinate
• E634 calcium 5’-ribonucleotides
• E635 disodium 5’-ribonucleotides
• E635 sodium 5′-ribonucleotide
• E640 glycine and its sodium salt
• E631 disodium 5’-inosinate (IMP)
• E920 L-cysteine hydrochloride
• E921 L-cystine
• E1518 glyceryl mono-, di- and tri-acetate (triacetin)
• calcium heptonate •calcium phytate • diacetin • glyceryl • leucine • monoacetin • oxystearin • and any unspecified flavourings.
Lactic acid as an additive is highly unlikely to be derived from dairy (in general commercial terms, 100% of the commercial market is from vegan sources) but if you want to be positive, you should contact the manufacturer.
Animal-derived carriers
Some additives that are not animal derived may involve the use of gelatine as a carrier. These include E104 quinoline yellow, E160a(i) mixed carotenes and E160a(ii) β-carotene.
Speak Your Mind