Haribo Zingfest, 150g

Product Information

Palm oil isn’t an ingredient that most vegans avoid. The same goes for sugar, and perhaps any other ingredient that is deemed “questionable”. What I want to say is that eating or avoiding these ingredients comes down to each individual’s own definition of veganism. Even though that ingredient might be destructive for both the environment and biodiversity, it’s still a plant-based ingredient, and as a vegan, it’s up to your whether you consume it or not. Haribo, however, is a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which claims to be the arbiter on sustainable palm oil production and vouches for members (or corporations) within their circle. Therefore, it’s hard to determine whether sustainable palm oil is really sustainable, not to mention that RSPO members account for around 40% of global palm oil production. Sugar (vegan but controversial) In any case, because beeswax is produced by bees, it can’t be deemed as a vegan ingredient. Carmine

According to the table above, the only vegan Haribo sweets are Sour S’ghetti, Rainbow Spaghetti, Rainbow Strips Zing, Sour Rainbow Twists, and Soft Jelly Bears. Methods like removing the wings of queen bees to prevent worker bees from leaving the colony are one of the few methods employed by some industrial bee farmers. While this seems more pertinent to honey, the fact that beeswax is crucial to the process doesn’t change the gravity of the problem. According to research available on Cell, between 1999 and 2015, palm oil production has led to the demise of 100,000 orangutans. The company is today run by Hans Riegel’s grandson, Hans Guido Riegel, with family management that is considered rather authoritarian and old-fashioned, but that seems to work very well, after all, there are more than 6,000 employees and a production of more than 80 million units per day. Heavy - Active for much of the day, walking non-stop and carrying objects. Typical jobs: hospital/ward nurse, waitressing in a busy restaurant, cleaner, porter, labourer/construction worker, gardener, farm worker. Leisure Activity Level

Questions & Answers

However, conventional palm oil farming is responsible for the destruction of rainforests and natural habitats. As a result, animal species end up losing their homes and die as they’re unable to adapt. Gelatin is one of the main ingredients used in chewy candies, and most Haribo sweets have it, as well as a wide array of different products such as shampoos and face masks. This being said, I’d say some countries are more suspicious than others. For instance, some sources point out that bone char is not used in some European countries, as well as Australia and New Zealand. So, depending on where the product is manufactured, you could more easily conclude. Indonesia and Malaysia account for 85% of the world’s palm oil production. It’s also in those two countries where a population of orangutangs is being pushed to extinction.

To give you a better idea of what products you can consume, I’ve gone ahead and created a table with every Haribo sweet, its ingredients, and its status. Haribo SweetTo extract this dye, cochineal insects are harvested, dried out, and ground up to produce the dark red color in powder form. Most cochineal insects are harvested in the wild, but there are also locations where they are farmed, which involves either cultivating cactus plants already infested with insects, or adding insects by hand to wild cactus pads. Candy Kittens is a brand of chewy sweets that started in 2012. It was initially not vegan, but it eventually evolved into becoming 100% vegan. Their sweets come in a variety of fruity flavors, namely raspberry & guava, blood orange & pomegranate, orchard apple & dragon fruit, wild strawberry, and more.

Beeswax is produced by bees to create a structure that allows them to store honey and nurture young bees. A process that happens during honey production.Well, unfortunately, even the vegan-friendly Haribo products “may contain” animal ingredients because they’re all manufactured in the same facility, where they handle a bunch of different ingredients, including gelatin and dairy.

Unfortunately, there are several ingredients used by the Haribo brand that might make them non-vegan, so you should definitely keep an eye out for the following ingredients. Gelatin Unfortunately, we know that the conventional honey industry isn’t ethical, and therefore some harsh methods are used to ramp up honey production. If you’re allergic to dairy or gluten, this is bad news because you won’t be able to consume their products as it could be dangerous for your health. Which Haribo Sweets Are Vegan & Vegetarian? The carminic acid extracted from the cochineal insect is boiled, filtered, and mixed with basic aluminum salts to produce the colorant, which must also be pasteurized or treated to eradicate salmonella microorganisms.

Haribo was also the company that created the first gummy candy in the form of little gummy bears called Gummibärchen (gummy bears in German), however, the company now has an array of gummy sweets, and while most of them are made with animal ingredients, there are a few vegetarian and vegan-friendly options. Why Are Most Haribo Sweets Not Vegan? Whilst I already have an article covering gelatin-free vegan gummies, here are the ones I would say are an interesting alternative to Haribo sweets: Candy Kittens