Tuesday, July 27, 2004 FAQ: Who Makes Vegan Chocolate?
A Reader Writes: “Who makes Vegan Chocolates?” The answer is not as straightforward as you might think, as the question revolves not just around dairy, but also what kind of sugar is used. While it’s obvious that people should look to see if a chocolate has any dairy products in it (milk solids or whey), some chocolates have fats in them that are derived from dairy ingredients, including butter oil. Less obvious is that the sugar used might not be vegan, depending on your definition, ingredients or process. Some refined white sugar is filtered through charcoal that may (or may not, there’s really no way to know) contain animal bones. While the sugar does not have an animal ingredient it is processed through something that does, which, depending on your sensitivity to the issue, may mean that it’s not edible. So in addition to looking for Kosher Pareve chocolate, you’re looking for chocolate that is sweetened using unrefined sugar or cane syrup. A quick search on Yahoo! reveals a number
