This article looks into one of the most frequently asked questions regarding candies that are vegetarian friendly: Are M&M’s Vegetarian?
Surprisingly, the M&M’s UK Twitter account tweeted in February 2019 that, “M&M’s aren’t suitable for halal or vegetarian diets.” However, they didn’t state the exact non-vegetarian ingredients and instead said, “We use additives that come from animal products when we’re making M&M’s and traces of these can be found in the sweets. They aren’t listed in the ingredients because they’re only present in such small amounts.”
Hi , M&M’s in the UK aren’t suitable for halal or vegetarian diets. We use additives that come from animal products when we’re making M&M’s and traces of these can be found in the sweets. They aren’t listed in the ingredients because they’re only present in such small amounts.
— M&M’s UK (@mmsuk) February 12, 2019
Even when pressed on the matter by Twitter user Waleed Azim Mughal, M&M’s UK was reluctant to give any specifics on the non-vegetarian ingredients used in their candies.
Hi Waleed, we use various types of ingredients in our products to achieve the perfect texture and flavour. Unfortunately we can’t give away too many details of our recipe and can only give you ingredient information as is listed on the back of the pack. Kind regards
— M&M’s UK (@mmsuk) February 13, 2019
We use additives that come from animal products when we’re making M&M’s and traces of these can be found in the sweets.
— M&M’s UK (@mmsuk) February 13, 2019
While M&M’s may be non-vegetarian in the UK, are they elsewhere? Maybe not. If we look at the ingredients in US M&M’s vs UK M&M’s it can be seen that there is some discrepancies in the animal-based ingredients used. Both M&M varieties contain Skim Milk, Lactose, and Milk Fat. However, the UK variety also contains Carmine (color) and Beeswax (glazing) whereas the US variety used Red 40 (color) and Carnauba Wax (glazing) in their stead. Therefore, the US variety of M&M’s appear to be more vegetarian friendly than their UK counterparts.
What about Rennet?
Another common animal-based ingredient added to candies is Rennet, which comes from the stomachs of ruminant mammals. On the Quora question board for “Are M&M’s suitable for vegetarians?” multiple users stated that M&M’s contain Rennet, though no sources were provided. Additionally, no sources stating the M&M’s contain Rennet could be found elsewhere online.
So are M&M's vegetarian or not?
Based on the tweets by M&M’s UK and the ingredients listed for UK M&M’s, it’s pretty safe to say that M&M’s in the UK are not vegetarian friendly. This is because they contain carmine and beeswax as well as traces of animal products used during production.
M&M’s in the US are a little more complicated. Based on the ingredients list alone, M&M’s would be vegetarian as they only contain Skim Milk, Lactose, and Milk Fat as their animal-based ingredients. It is possible that the same manufacturing additives are used for US M&M’s making them non-vegetarian, but this could not confirmed.
As this topic dives deep into the weeds of vegetarian friendly ingredients and processing, it is appropriate to include a quote from PETA about trace ingredients in products:
“The most important thing to keep in mind is that being vegan isn’t about personal purity―it’s about reducing animal suffering. If we avoid products that are 99.9 percent vegan but contain trace amounts of animal products, we send the message to companies that there is no market for more animal-friendly goods, and we’ve hurt more animals than we’ve helped. PETA encourages people to do their best to maintain a vegan lifestyle but not to spend time worrying about trace amounts of ingredients that may be animal-derived.”
Even though this quote is about those following a vegan diet, it is fair to generalize it for those following a vegetarian diet as well. It is possible M&M’s in the US contain trace non-vegetarian ingredients, but they are not worth spending the time worrying about.
Vegan M&M's Alternatives
If you would like to avoid worrying about the possible trace animal-based ingredients in M&M’s, give one of these great M&M’s alternatives a try! Each have been verified to be vegan friendly and contain no animal-based products.
No Whey! Foods claims these are the perfect substitute for traditional M&M’s. They feature a crunchy candy coating and milk-less chocolate interior. Choco No No’s can be purchased on Amazon.
These minty morsels by No Whey! Foods are a great substitute for mint M&M’s. They feature a crunchy candy coating and a mint and milk-less chocolate interior. Peppermint No No’s can be purchased on Amazon.
Little Secrets’ Dark Chocolate Pieces are a great alternative to traditional M&M’s. These Little Secret treats can be purchased on Amazon.
Little Secrets’ Sea Salted Peanut Dark Chocolate Pieces are a great substitute for peanut M&M’s. These Little Secret treats can be purchased on Amazon.
Little Secrets’ Sea Salted Almond Dark Chocolate Pieces are a great substitute for Almond M&M’s. These Little Secret treats can be purchased on Amazon.
Little Secrets’ Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Pieces are a great substitute for peanut butter M&M’s. These Little Secret treats can be purchased on Amazon.
Little Secrets’ Toasted Coconut Dark Chocolate Pieces are a great substitute for coconut M&M’s. These Little Secret treats can be purchased on Amazon.
Unreal’s Milk Chocolate Gems are a great vegetarian alternative to traditional M&M’s. While these gems do contain milk ingredients, Unreal has certified them RSBT-free, fair trade, and states they are “colored by veggies” so no Carmine is use. These Milk Chocolate Gems can be purchased on Amazon.
Unreal’s Dark Chocolate Peanut Gems are a great vegan alternative to traditional Peanut M&M’s. These tasty treats can be purchased on Amazon.
Unreal’s Dark Chocolate Crispy Quinoa Gems are a great vegan alternative to traditional Crispy M&M’s. These tasty treats can be purchased on Amazon.
Summary
In the end, “Are M&M’s Vegetarian? If you’re in the UK then no, M&M’s are not vegetarian. If you are elsewhere in the world than they are more likely to be vegetarian friendly, depending on the manufacturing process used. For the time being it is probably best to steer clear of M&M’s and choose one of the great alternatives listed in this article.
