To obtain Vegan certification, a product must not contain meat, fish, poultry, animal by-products, eggs or egg products, milk or dairy products, honey or bee products, insects or insect products such as silk or dyes, or sugar filtered with bone char, nor be processed together with any animal products or by-products.

The product must not contain or be derived from leather, fur, silk, feathers, down, bone, horn, shell, wool, cashmere, angora, animal skin, suede or mohair.

Sweeteners must not be filtered or processed with bone char.

Probiotics must be cultured on a medium free of animal products or by-products.

Liquids such as beer, wine, maple syrup and juice must not be filtered, defoamed or clarified with animal products.

The product must not involve animal testing of ingredients or finished products by suppliers, producers, manufacturers or independent parties for any type of research, including environmental safety, feed or nutrition testing, toxicity testing, or 'legally required' animal experiments or tests, including third-party testing.

The product must not contain any animal-derived GMO or animal-derived genes used to make ingredients or finished products.

In addition, the company must take acceptable steps to thoroughly clean and disinfect all surfaces, containers, utensils and machinery used between Vegan and non-Vegan production cycles to avoid cross-contamination when using shared equipment and utensils, including cleaning equipment, sampling equipment and testing equipment.

FAQ

What ingredients can a Vegan-certified product not contain?
The product must not contain meat, fish, poultry, animal by-products, eggs and egg products, milk and dairy products, honey or bee products, insects and insect products (such as silk or dyes); must not use sugar filtered with bone char; and must not be processed together with any animal products or by-products. It must also not be derived from leather, fur, silk, feathers, down, bone, horn, shell, wool, cashmere, etc.
What are the Vegan certification requirements regarding animal testing and GMOs?
The product must not involve any animal testing of ingredients or finished products by suppliers, producers or third parties (including environmental safety, feed/nutrition testing, toxicity testing and legally required animal experiments); and must not contain any animal-derived GMO or animal-derived genes used to make ingredients or finished products.
If the same production line makes both Vegan and non-Vegan products, how is cross-contamination avoided?
The company must take acceptable steps to thoroughly clean and disinfect all surfaces, containers, utensils and machinery used between Vegan and non-Vegan production cycles to avoid cross-contamination when sharing equipment and utensils; this also includes cleaning equipment, sampling equipment and testing equipment.