Image by FoodieFactor from Pixabay
According to Wikipedia, the Jelly Belly Candy Company was founded in 1898. They are most known for their jelly beans, but they also sell other products. Their signature jelly beans come in over 50 varieties with flavors ranging from the traditional lemon, lime and orange to the exotic buttered popcorn, earswax, and chili-mango. Jelly beans are a topic of much discussion in the vegan community as they typically contain animal based beeswax and confectioner’s glaze, not to mention the sugar and artificial flavors. In this article we look to settle the debate if Jelly Bellys jelly beans are vegan.
Controversial Vegan Ingredients
Before we start our vegan analysis, we would like to make note of the controversial ingredients found in some Jelly Belly products 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).
A full vegan-friendly analysis of all brands of jelly beans can be found in the following sections.
Jelly Bellys Frequently Asked Questions
Jelly Belly Ingredients
Sugar, Corn Syrup, Modified Food Starch, Contains 2% Or Less Of The Following: Citric Acid, Fumaric Acid, Lactic Acid, Malic Acid, Phosphoric Acid, Sodium Lactate, Sodium Citrate, Natural And Artificial Flavors, Color Added, Red 40 Lake, Yellow 5 & 6 Lake, Blue 1 & 2 Lake, Yellow 5 & 6, Red 40, Blue 1 & 2, Turmeric (Color), Vegetable And Fruit Juice (Color), Tapioca Dextrin, Vanilla Beans, Beeswax, Carnauba Wax, Confectioner’s Glaze, Salt, Caffeine. [Source]
Are Jelly Bellys Vegan?
Unfortunately, it appears that all Jelly Belly flavors contain 2 non-vegan ingredients: Beeswax and Confectioner’s Glaze. According to Wikipedia, Confectioner‘s Glaze (aka Shellac) is made from the secretions of female lac bugs found in India and Thailand. As Shellac/Confectioner’s Glaze is a insect-derived ingredient, it is usually not considered to be vegan friendly. Additionally, Beeswax is another non-vegan ingredient because it is a Honey Bee product. Therefore, Jelly Bellys are NOT vegan.
Are Jelly Bellys Vegetarian?
Depending on the vegetarians stance on Shellac and Beeswax, Jelly Bellys could be considered vegetarian. Jelly Belly states on their website that, “Jelly Belly beans are vegetarian-friendly. They do not contain gelatin, dairy, or eggs.”
Are Jelly Bellys Dairy Free?
Jelly Belly beans do not contain gelatin, dairy, or egg based ingredients. Therefore, Jelly Bellys are dairy free!
Are Jelly Bellys Gluten Free?
No gluten containing ingredients are listed on the package and Jelly Belly states in one of the answers to their frequently asked questions that, “Jelly Belly jelly beans are free of gluten ingredients.” However, always read the ingredient label on packages and bulk bins to see if gluten containing ingredients are present as Jelly Belly does make some gluten containing products (Chocolate Malt Balls, Chocolate Deluxe Mix, Seasonal Malt Balls, Licorice Bridge Mix, and Licorice Pastels).
Are Jelly Bellys Kosher?
Jelly Belly states on their website: “Yes, we are happy to report Jelly Belly® jelly beans and all of our confections, with the exception of Harry Potter™ Chocolate Frog and LolliBeans Lollipops, are certified kosher by the Orthodox Union (OU). The OU, or OU-Dairy symbol is now on packages and bulk bin labels for all candies produced at the Jelly Belly factory.” Therefore, Jelly Belly jelly beans are certified kosher
Since Starburst products in the United States are almost always non-vegan, we felt it was necessary to give you a Starburst alternative. The Organic Fruit Chews by Wholesome are USDA Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified, Vegan, Certified Gluten Free, and Contains No High Fructose Corn Syrup. You can purchase Wholesome’s Fruit Chews directly on their website.
Vegan Jelly Bean Alternative: Jolly Rancher Jelly Beans
Image from Amazon
Since Jelly Belly jelly beans are non-vegan, we felt it was necessary to give you a jelly bean alternative. Unfortunately, there was only one brand of jelly beans that we could find that did not include Beeswax or Confectioner’s Glaze in their ingredients list. This brand was Jolly Rancher. Jolly Rancher’s jelly beans do contain Sugar and Artificial Colors that may or may not be vegan depending on your stance, but they do not contain any other non-vegan ingredients. You can purchase Jolly Rancher jelly beans on Amazon.
You can find our vegan analysis of all Jolly Rancher products here.
Other Non-Vegan Jelly Bean Brands
All of the following brands jelly beans are not vegan friendly.
Brach’s – Brach’s jelly beans contain both Confectioner’s Glaze and Beeswax. [Source]
Haribo – Haribo jelly beans contain Beeswax. [Source]
Kirkland – Kirkland’s Signature Gormet Jelly Beans contain Beeswax and Confectioner’s Glaze [Source]
Laffy Taffy – Laffy Taffy’s jelly beans contain Beeswax. [Source]
Life Saver – Life Saver’s jelly beans contain both Confectioner’s Glaze and Beeswax. [Source]
Starburst – Starburst jelly beans contain both Confectioner’s Glaze and Beeswax. [Source]
Wholesome Sweets – Wholesome’s Organic Jelly Beans contain Confectioner’s Glaze from lac insects. [Source]
Summary
As this article showed almost all brands of jelly beans are not vegan friendly. They typically contain either Confectioner’s Glaze or Beeswax to give them their shiny coating. Jelly Belly jelly beans were found to be both gluten free and kosher, but not vegan friendly.
You can read about other vegan snack options here.
