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Chips Ahoy is one of the most beloved cookie brands in the United States. For over 50 years, Chips Ahoy has been providing sweet, chocolatey treats for countless Americans. But, are Chips Ahoy vegan?
Chips Ahoy Cookies are not vegan because they contain milk.
Below is a table showing Chips Ahoy flavors and its vegan status.
Flavor | Vegan Status |
Chips Ahoy! Mini Original Chocolate Chip Cookies | No, contains Milk. |
Chips Ahoy! Chewy Chewy Cookies | No, contains Milk. |
Chips Ahoy! Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookies | No, contains Milk. |
Chips Ahoy! Chewy Brownie Filled Cookies | No, contains Milk. |
Chips Ahoy! Chunky Chunky Cookies | No, contains Milk. |
Chips Ahoy! Reese’s | No, contains Milk. |
Chips Ahoy! Thins Original Cookies | No, contains Milk. |
Chips Ahoy! Hershey’S Cookies | No, contains Milk. |
Chips Ahoy! Grind | No, contains Milk. |
Chips Ahoy Ingredients
Below is a list of ingredients from all the flavors that I could find.
- Ammonium Phosphate
- Artificial Flavor
- Baking Soda
- Canola Oil
- Caramel Color
- Chocolate
- Cocoa
- Cocoa (Processed With Alkali)
- Cocoa Butter
- Corn Syrup
- Corn Syrup Solids
- Cornstarch
- Dextrose
- Folic Acid
- Glycerol
- High Fructose Corn Syrup
- Invert Sugar
- Lactose
- Milk
- Milkfat
- Molasses
- Natural And Artificial Flavor
- Niacin
- Nonfat Milk
- Oat Fiber
- Palm Kernel Oil
- Palm Oil
- Peanut Butter Chips
- Peanuts
- Polyglycerol Polyricinoleate
- Reduced Iron
- Reduced Protein Whey
- Riboflavin {Vitamin B2}
- Salt
- Semisweet Chocolate Chunks
- Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate
- Soy Lecithin
- Soybean Oil
- Sugar
- TBHQ
- Thiamine Mononitrate {Vitamin B1}
- Unbleached Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour
- Water
- Whey
[Source]
As always I’ve highlighted the ingredients that we need to take a closer look at.
Non-Vegan Ingredients
Milk
It is not acceptable for vegans to consume milk.
Questionable Ingredients
Sugar
Sugar is a tricky ingredient for vegans because there is in situation where cane sugar would be classified as non-vegan by vegans. This sugar is very common in candy and sweet. In it’s raw form cane sugar is always vegan, but when it gets refined it can cause problems for vegans.
The cane sugar is often refined to fit the products better and in this process the sugar is also bleached. A common method is to use bone char from dead cows and does not align with veganism.
Natural And Artificial Flavor
The next ingredient in the questionable list is natural flavor. The problem with this is the fact that it’s an umbrella term, meaning it can contain several ingredients and the source of these ingredients are never disclosed on the ingredients label.
So these ingredients could be animal-sourced or vegan-friendly. The only way to know for sure is to contact the company and ask.
Palm Oil
Palm oil is the most common vegetable oil in the world and it’s known for its production per square meter. This is making it a very lucrative vegetable oil and that is why companies are producing it in huge amounts.
This is a huge problem for the environment, because the forests are being cut down in order to make room for the plantations. The wildlife suffers and animals such as orangutans are being forced away from their natural habitat.
However there is a way to make palm oil more vegan friendly and that is RSPO. This organisation helps companies produce and buy sustainable palm oil with minimal impact on the environment.
Corn & Soy
Corn and soy are two of the most common GMO crops that are grown in the US. These GMO crops require a high amount of herbicide to grow and this can cause damage to the surrounding ecosystems.
Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate
This ingredient can be sourced from both plants and animals.
Conclusion
Unfortunately no flavors of Chips Ahoy are vegan-friendly. They all contain milk, but luckily for vegans there are many brands and flavors that are suitable for vegans. Many companies are producing more vegan-friendly cookies today and maybe in the future we could see a vegan-friendly option on Chips Ahoy as well.
Thanks for reading, take care!