Image Credit: Airheads Candy Twitter
According to Wikipedia, “AirHeads are a tangy, taffy-like, chewy candy manufactured by Dutch-Italian company Perfetti Van Melle in Erlanger, Kentucky. They were created August 7, 1985 by Steve Bruner. AirHeads are available nationwide in the United States. The candy is available in over 16 different flavors.” In this article we look into the question, “Are Airheads Vegan?”
A full vegan-friendly analysis of each Airheads 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!“
Palm Oil and Palm Fat
Palm oil is a controversial vegan ingredient not because it is animal-derived, but because the cultivation of palm oil has devastating environmental impacts and harms many animals. You can learn more about palm oil in our article titled “Is Palm Oil Vegan?“
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).
Airheads Bars
Airheads Bars Ingredients
Sugar, Corn Syrup, Maltodextrin, Dextrose, Modified Food Starch (Corn), Palm Oil, Citric Acid, Water, Artificial Flavor, Artificial Colors (Red 40, Blue 1, Yellow 6, Yellow 5). [Source]
Are Airheads Bars Vegan?
Peta has no less than 3 articles [1, 2, 3] that state that Airheads are vegan-friendly. Based on the ingredients provided on their website, we have to agree. The only ingredients listed in the traditional Airhead bars that may give vegans some concern are the controversial ingredients. Therefore, Airheads bars are vegan!
Airheads Bites
Airheads Bites Ingredients
Sugar, Glucose Syrup, Maltodextrin, Dextrose, Hydrogenated Coconut Oil, Citric Acid, Modified Corn Starch, Sorbitol, Artificial Flavors, Glycerine, Rice Starch, Carnauba Wax, Beeswax, Shellac, Gellan Gum, Sucrose Esters Of Fatty Acids, Artificial Colors (Red 40, Blue 1, Yellow 6, Yellow 5). [Source]
Are Airheads Bites Vegan?
Airheads Bites are NOT vegan. They contain two non-vegan ingredients: Beeswax and Shellac. Beeswax is pretty self explanatory, but shellac is made from the secretions of female lac bugs found in India and Thailand. As Shellac is a insect-derived ingredient, it is usually not considered to be vegan friendly.
Airheads Soft Filled Bites
Airheads Soft Filled Bites Ingredients
Sugar, Glucose Syrup, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Starch, Food Starch – Modified (Corn), Food Starch – Modified (Potato), Malic Acid, Dextrose, Citric Acid, Coconut Oil, Lactic Acid, Gelatin, Artificial Flavors, Hydrogenated Palm Oil, Sorbitol Syrup, Glycerin, Salt, Fumaric Acid, Trisodium Citrate, Artificial Colors (Red 40, Blue 1, Yellow 6, Yellow 5). [Source]
Are Airheads Soft Filled Bites Vegan?
Unfortunately, Airheads Soft Filled Bites are also NOT vegan because they contain Gelatin. According to Peta, “Gelatin is a protein procured by boiling animal skin, tendons, cartilage, ligaments, and/or bones in water. It’s usually obtained from cows, pigs, or fish.” As Gelatin is a animal-derived ingredient, it is usually not considered to be vegan or vegetarian.
Airheads Gummies
Airheads Gummies Ingredients
Corn Syrup, Sugar, Gelatin, Sorbitol, Citric Acid, Pectin, Artificial Flavors, Coconut Oil, Sodium Citrate, Beeswax, Carnauba Wax, Artificial Colors (Red 40, Blue 1, Yellow 6, Yellow 5). [Source]
Are Airheads Gummies Vegan?
Airheads Gummies are also NOT vegan-friendly. Similar to the previous two products, Airheads Gummies contain both Beeswax and Gelatin.
Airheads Gum
Airheads Gum Ingredients
Xylitol, Sorbitol, Chewing Gum Base, Glycerol, Maltitol Syrup, Malic Acid, Artificial Flavors, Citric Acid, Tartaric Acid, Aspartame, Carrageenan, Coconut Fat, Sucralose, Lecithin (Soy), Acesulfame K, Sucrose Fatty Acid Esters, BHT to Maintain Freshness, Blue 1 Lake, Color (Carmines). [Source]
Is Airheads Gum Vegan?
Chewing gum is always an interesting product to evaluate because manufacturers are not required to state what their “chewing gum base” is made out of. Lucky (or maybe unlucky) for us, Airheads Gum also contains Carmines as an added color. Carmines is actually a red food coloring extracted from a special insect species. You can learn more about carmine here. Because Carmines is listed in the ingredients, Airheads Gum is NOT vegan.
Airheads Xtremes
Airheads Xtremes Ingredients
Sugar, Corn Syrup, Wheat Flour, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Food Starch – Modified (Corn), Food Starch, Modified (Potato), Malic Acid, Citric Acid, Artificial Flavors, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Potassium Citrate, Salt, Artificial Colors (Red 40, Blue 1, Yellow 6, Yellow 5). [Source]
Are Airheads Xtremes Vegan?
Airhead Xtremes ARE vegan because they contain no animal-derived ingredients.
Airheads Xtremes Bites
Airheads Xtremes Bites Ingredients
Sugar, Corn Syrup, Corn Starch, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Food Starch – Modified (Corn), Food Starch, Modified (Potato), Wheat Starch, Malic Acid, Palm Oil, Citric Acid, Artificial Flavors, Salt, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Potassium Citrate, Colors Added (Carmine, Blue 1). [Source]
Are Airheads Xtremes Bites Vegan?
Unfortunately, the Airheads Xtremes Bites ingredients differ from the regular Airheads Xtremes in one key area. The Airheads Xtremes Bites contains Carmine as an added color. Carmine is a red food coloring extracted from a special insect species. You can learn more about carmine here. Because Carmines is listed in the ingredients, Airheads Xtremes Bites are NOT vegan.
Airheads Xtremes Sourfuls
Airheads Xtremes Sourfuls Ingredients
Sugar, Corn Syrup, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Starch, Food Starch – Modified (Corn), Malic
Acid, Food Starch – Modified (Potato), Dextrose, Wheat Starch, Citric Acid, Coconut Oil, Lactic Acid, Gelatin, Artificial Flavors, Sodium Malates, Hydrogenated Palm Oil, Salt, Glycerol, Fumaric Acid, Sorbitol Syrup, Trisodium Citrate, Artificial Colors (Red 40, Blue 1, Yellow 6, Yellow 5). [Source]
Are Airheads Xtremes Sourfuls Vegan?
The Airheads Xtremes Sourfuls are also NOT vegan because they include Gelatin in their ingredients.
Additional Airheads FAQs
Q: Are Airheads Gluten Free?
According to the Airheads website, Airheads products (Airheads, but not Airheads Xtremes) contain no gluten in the products at all. Therefore, regular Airheads ARE gluten-free!
Q: Are Airheads Bites Gluten Free?
According to the Airheads website, Airheads products (Airheads, but not Airheads Xtremes) contain no gluten in the products at all. Therefore, Airheads Bites ARE also gluten-free!
Q: Are Airheads Xtremes Gluten Free?
According to the Airheads website, Airheads Xtremes do contain gluten. Therefore, Airheads Xtremes are NOT gluten-free!
Q: Are Airheads Kosher?
Yes Airheads Bars (the regular taffy-like Airheads) are certified Kosher. All the other Airhead products are not Kosher.
Q: Are Airheads Halal?
Both Airheads Bars and Airheads Xtremes are Halal since they contain no animal-derived ingredients.
Q: Are Airheads Dairy Free?
According to the Airheads website, “Airheads do not contain dairy; however since it would not be typical for dairy to be found in our products, we perform no specific test for it. Please keep in mind that due to the fact that most of the ingredients are agricultural products and could be processed on equipment that may also handle products containing these items, we cannot make the claim that our products are free of said items.”
Therefore, Airheads do not contain diary but are not certified dairy-free and may be processed on the same equipment as other products that contain dairy.
Q: Are Airheads Peanut Free?
Similar to the dairy question above, the Airheads website states: “Airheads do not contain peanuts; however since it would not be typical for peanuts to be found in our products, we perform no specific test for them. Please keep in mind that due to the fact that most of the ingredients are agricultural products and could be processed on equipment that may also handle products containing these items, we cannot make the claim that our products are free of said items.”
Therefore, Airheads do not contain peanuts but are not certified peanut-free and may be processed on the same equipment as other products that contain dairy. However, almost all of the Airheads products state they are Peanut and Tree Nut Free in the allergen section of the nutrition label.
Summary
Based on our analysis, only regular Airheads Bars and Airheads Xtreams are vegan-friendly candies. If you liked this article, you can read about other vegan snack options here.
