Over the past two years, plant-based food consumption has grown by 49% across the EU, reaching a total sales volume of €3.6 billion.
Vegan Certification Standards Common Non-Vegan Ingredients
2025-05-15
Vegan products do not contain animals or animal by-products, including dairy or eggs. However, here are some common ingredients you cannot use:
Animal-derived additives
E120 Cochineal
E542 Edible bone phosphate
E631 Sodium 5′-inosinate
E901 beeswax
E904 shellac
lactose
collagen
Animal fiber:
likeMohair, Astrakhan sheepskin, cashmere, wool, rabbit hair, goose down, duck down, etc.
Animal milk and animal milk derivatives:
e.g. casein, sodium caseinate, lactate, lactic acid, lactose
Bee products:
Such as bee pollen, bee venom, beeswax, honey, propolis, royal jelly
Dairy products and by-products:
Such as butter, cheese, whey, yogurt
egg:
For example, hens, quails, ducks, ostriches
Human-derived substances:
Such as keratin, placenta
Items obtained directly from slaughtering animals:
Such as fish (e.g. anchovies), game and its derivatives (e.g. meat/fish extracts), poultry, meat
Marine animal products:
Examples include ambergris, caviar, chitin, coral, fish scales, fish meal, fish glue, and fish oil extracts (e.g., fish oil, shark oil (squalene or squalane), seal oil, whale oil), natural sponges, pearls, seal meat, shellfish, spermaceti, whale meat
Slaughter by-products
Animal fats (such as lard, suet, tallow), amino acids, aspic, bones, bone char, bone meal, bristles, collagen, down, dried blood, fatty acid derivatives, feathers, fur, gelatin(e), glycerol(e)/glycerol, hair, hides (leather, suede, etc.), hoof and horn powder, oleic acid, oleic oil, oleosterols, pepsin, proteins (such as elastin, keratin, reticulin), rennet, skin, stearic acid
Other miscellaneous substances
Catgut, cordyceps, snails or insects, fixatives (such as musk, civet, castor oil), hormones (such as estrogen, progesterone, testosterone), ivory, lanolin(e), mink oil, parchment, placenta, silk, shellac, snake venom, certain vitamins (such as D3), urea, and any carrier containing/including substances of animal origin (gelatin(e) is sometimes used to carry beta-carotene and D2), processing aids (lactose is often used to fix flavor in potato chips), or release agents (sometimes used to prevent candy and baked goods from sticking to manufacturing equipment)
If a product is produced in a facility that contains animal ingredients, we require that the machinery be thoroughly cleaned between runs. Animal origin testing must then be performed, showing 5 parts per million or less of any non-vegan residues, to be considered suitable for vegan production. We work with manufacturers to establish systems to ensure there is no cross-contamination between vegan and non-vegan products and ingredients.