Are Twizzlers Vegan?
Here’s Everything You Need to Know

Whether it’s movie or night or you have a craving for something licorice, long, chewy, and sweet, Twizzlers are one of the nation’s favorite licorice candies.

But are Twizzlers vegan? The answer is a little more complicated than a simple yes or no, but we have all the information you need on these twists in the article below.

Read on for all the strawberry twists and turns of the “Are Twizzlers Vegan?” saga.

While at first glance, the Twizzlers ingredients list might look vegan, on second glance, the licorice part gets a little more twisted.

Here’s why.

1. Sugar

There is a LOT of sugar in Twizzlers. Just four of these twists contain 19 grams of sugar, equivalent to just raw dogging five spoonfuls of the stuff. These are a no-no for any people with diabetes or those watching the waistline, but this high sugar content also poses a problem for vegans.

While some of the sugar comes from corn syrup, the rest is sourced from cane sugar. The problem here is that a worryingly large amount of white sugar is bleached using animal bone char in the refining process. It’s hard to tell if a specific sugar does or doesn’t for sure, so most more militant vegans avoid the ingredient.

2. Palm Oil

Palm oil, like mineral oil, is one of the tricky ingredients that make you examine the reason for your veganism. While it doesn’t directly have animal blood in it, it’s a plant-based ingredient, and it does have blood in its production path.

Palm oil is heavily linked to massive rainforest deforestation and has a substantial environmental impact. It has too few regulations and oversight in its practices in most of the countries it is sourced from. It displaces and endangers animals and even small rural human populations [1].

3. Artificial Colors And Flavors

There are natural colors that are animal-based such as carmine, which is made from bugs. But seeing as the majority of the artificial coloring processing methods are made in a lab, they should be vegan-friendly, right? Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as that.

Artificial colors and flavors have to go through rigorous and constant animal testing to prove they are safe for ingestion. From mice to dogs, these colors and flavors will need constant retesting for as long as they are on the market and so can’t be considered vegan.

Red 40, in particular, is made from petroleum, which is a whole other vegan issue.

4. Trans Fats

While it might not be a strictly vegan issue, I would still label the Twizzlers trans fats issue as something to note. The FDA will allow small amounts of trans fats to be rounded down to 0, making for some less than honest labels on sweets and candies.

Trans fats are the worst ingredient for you if you care about your health [2]. They simultaneously lower your good cholesterol and raise the bad. While a label might say Twizzlers contain 0 grams of trans fats, look for any ingredients that are “partially hydrogenated,” “monoglycerides,” or “diglycerides” because that means trans fats are present.

Also Read:

• Can You Eat Honey on a Vegan Diet?
• Can You Eat Nerds Candy on a Vegan Diet?
• Can You Eat Twizzlers Candy on a Vegan Diet?