Image by meineresterampe from Pixabay
Sour candies are some of the most popular types of candy in the world. With a sour coating and a sweet candy center, they appeal a wide variety of pallets. In this article we look to find out if these sour candies are suitable for those on a vegan diet. Specifically, we look to find if Sour Patch Kids, Sour Patch Watermelon, and Sour Punch Straws are vegan.
A full vegan-friendly analysis of each sour gummy product 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).
Sour Patch Kids
Sour Patch Kids Ingredients
Sugar, Invert Sugar, Corn Syrup, Modified Corn Starch, Tartaric Acid, Citric Acid, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Yellow 6, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Blue 1. [Source]
Are Sour Patch Kids Vegan?
Notably, Sour Patch Kids are free of gelatin which is the most common non-vegan ingredient listed in gummy snacks. Additionally, the only ingredients that might be of concern for vegans in Sour Patch Kids are those listed in the “Controversial Vegan Ingredients” section above. Overall, the ingredients are from plant-derived sources and Peta has listed Sour Patch Kids as vegan-friendly in multiple of their articles (See Top 20 Accidentally Vegan Foods and Are There BONES in Your Candy?!). Therefore, Sour Patch Kids are vegan!
Sour Patch Watermelon
Sour Patch Watermelon Ingredients
Sugar, Invert Sugar, Corn Syrup, Modified Corn Starch, Citric Acid, Tartaric Acid, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Titanium Dioxide, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Blue 1. [Source]
Are Sour Patch Watermelon Vegan?
Except for Titanium Dioxide, the ingredients in Sour Patch Watermelon are exactly the same as Sour Patch Kids. According to Green People, “Titanium dioxide is a naturally occurring earth mineral” and a vegan-friendly ingredient. Therefore, Sour Patch Watermelon are also vegan!
Sour Punch Straws
Sour Punch Straws Ingredients
Corn Syrup, Wheat Flour, Sugar, Citric Acid, Malic Acid, Tartanic Acid, Glyceryl Monostearate, Glycerin, Artificial Flavors, Blue 1, Red 40, and Yellow 5 (Tartrazine). [Source]
Are Sour Punch Straws Vegan?
Sour Punch Straws contain one ingredient that can come from either plant or animal sources: Glycerin. However, The Vegetarian Resource Group has stated that Glycerin “is typically derived from plant materials when used in foods.” As Glycerin is typically derived from plants and the rest of the ingredients are plant-based, it is safe to say that Sour Punch Straws are vegan!
It appears that most of Sour Punch’s products have almost the same ingredients (therefore making them vegan-friendly), but make sure to check the ingredients on your packaging before purchase.
Additional Sour Gummy FAQs
Q: Are Sour Patch Kids Gluten Free?
Yes, Sour Patch Kids are gluten free! None of the ingredients listed for Sour Patch Kids contain gluten or are gluten-based. The Celiac Disease Foundation confirms that Sour Patch Kids are gluten free.
Q: Are Sour Patch Kids Kosher?
Sour Patch Kids are not a Kosher-certified product. [Source]
Q: Are Sour Patch Watermelon Gluten Free?
Yes, Sour Patch Watermelon are gluten free! None of the ingredients listed for Sour Patch Watermelon contain gluten or are gluten-based. The Celiac Disease Foundation confirms that Sour Patch Watermelon are gluten free.
Q: Are Sour Patch Kids Kosher?
Sour Patch Watermelon are not a Kosher-certified product. [Source]
Q: Are Sour Punch Straws Gluten Free?
Sour Punch Straws are NOT a gluten free product because their second ingredient is gluten-based wheat flour.
Q: Are Sour Punch Straws Kosher?
According to Sour Punch’s website, Sour Punch Straws are a Kosher certified candy.
Q: Are Sour Punch Straws Licorice?
No, Sour Punch Straws are not licorice as they contain no ingredients derived from licorice plant. To find out if licorice is vegan, check out our article, “Is Licorice Vegan?“
Summary
Surprisingly, all of the products evaluated in this article are vegan-friendly. None of the products contained gelatin which the most common non-vegan ingredient in gummy candies.
You can read about other vegan snack options here.
