According to Wikipedia, “Dots is a brand of gum drops marketed by Tootsie Roll Industries, which claims that “since its 1945 launch,” the candy has become “America’s…#1 selling gumdrop brand.” According to advertisements, more than four billion dots are produced from the Tootsie Roll Industries Chicago plant each year.” In this article we seek to answer the question “Are Dots Vegan?” along with many other commonly asked questions about Dots.
A full vegan-friendly analysis of Dots can be found in the following sections.
Controversial Vegan Ingredients
Before we start our vegan analysis, we would like to make note of the controversial ingredients that are assumed to be vegan in this analysis. Even though we consider them to be vegan, we will still highlight these ingredients if they appear in any posted ingredient lists. These controversial ingredients include:
Sugar
In almost all candy products, one of the first few ingredients is Sugar. Sugar is a controversial product in the vegan community because refined cane sugar is processed with bone char to achieve the pure white color. The sugar itself does not contain any bone char particles, but is not vegan due to the processing methods used. Since the type of sugar is typically not stated, it is assumed to be vegan in this analysis. If you choose to avoid non-vegan sugars than all of the products in this analysis should be avoided. A full rundown on if sugar is vegan can be found in our article titled “Is Your Sugar Vegan? Lets Find Out!“
Natural and Artificial Flavorings
Natural flavors can come from both animal or plant sources, but the natural flavors in candies are typically from plant sources. Those natural flavors from animal-origin will be highlighted if known.
Colors
Some food colors are controversial in the vegan community. This is because food colors are often tested on animals. In this article we assume all food colors are vegan, unless the color itself is from an animal or insect origin (e.g. Carmine).
Dots Gumdrops
Dots Gumdrops Ingredients (Original and Tropical)
Corn Syrup, Sugar, Food Starch-Modified, Malic Acid, Natural And Artificial Flavors, Sodium Citrate, Artificial Colors (Including FD&C Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1). [Source]
Are Dots Gumdrops Vegan?
Unlike most gummy candies, Dots do not contain Gelatin in its ingredients list. Additionally, all of the ingredients listed on their website are plant-based. The only ingredients that may cause vegans some concern are those listed in the controversial ingredients section above. Therefore, both Dots Original and Tropical Flavored Gumdrops are vegan! Peta has confirmed this in multiple of their articles (Accidentally Vegan Foods and Vegan Halloween Candy).
Sour Dots Gumdrops
Sour Dots Gumdrops Ingredients
Corn Syrup, Sugar, Modified Food Starch, Citric Acid, Palm Oil, Malic Acid, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Sodium Citrate, Artificial Colors (FD&C Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1). [Source]
Are Sour Dots Gumdrops Vegan?
Sour Dots are also vegan! As with the Original flavor Dots, the only ingredients that may be of concern for a vegan would be the controversial ingredients mentioned above.
Additional Dots FAQs
Are Dots Gluten Free?
According to the Dots “Allergy Info & Nutrition” website, Dots are a gluten-free product.
Are Dots Kosher?
According to the Dots “Allergy Info & Nutrition” website, Dots are a Kosher OU Parve product.
Are Dots Dairy Free?
Dots are not listed as dairy free on their “Allergy Info & Nutrition” website. However, they do not contain any dairy-based ingredients as shown in the ingredients lists above. Therefore, it is likely that they is a possible cross contamination issue during the production process. For example, Dots could be processed on the same machinery as other products that contain dairy ingredients. If you are extremely sensitive to dairy, it would be best to avoid Dots.
Are Dots Peanut Free?
According to the Dots “Allergy Info & Nutrition” website, Dots are a tree nut and peanut free product.
Do Dots Contain Gelatin?
Dots do not contain gelatin based on the ingredients listed on Tootsie Roll’s Dots website.
Summary
As shown in this article, all flavors of Dots (Original, Tropical, and Sour) are vegan-friendly! If you liked this article, you can read about other vegan snack options here.
