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Grippo’s Chips are a delicious snack that has been around for generations. The company was started in the early 1900s by Frank Grippo and the chips are made from only the finest ingredients, and they are known for their unique flavor. However are Grippo’s vegan?
Grippo’s Plain and BBQ potato chips are both vegan because they don’t contain any ingredients derived from animals.
Below is a table showing Grippo’s flavors and its vegan status.
| Flavor | Vegan Status |
| Grippo’s Plain Potato Chips | No, contains non RSPO certified Palm Oil. |
| Grippo’s BBQ Potato Chips | No, contains non RSPO certified Palm Oil. |
Grippo’s Ingredients
Below is a list of ingredients from all the flavors that I could find.
- Caramel Color
- Corn Flour Flour
- Corn Oil
- Cottonseed Oil
- Garlic Power
- High Oleic Soybean Oil
- Monosodium Glutamate
- Natural Hickory Smoke Flavor
- Onion Powder
- Palm Oil
- Paprika Extract
- Salt
- Selected Potatoes
- Silicon Dioxide.
- Spices
- Sugar
- Sunflower Oil
- Torula Yeast
- Vegetable Oil
[Source]
As always I’ve highlighted the ingredients that we need to take a closer look at.
Questionable Ingredients
Sugar
Sugar is an uncertain ingredient for vegans and for good reason, because there is a possibly that bone char has been used in the production process. The most common sugar types are beet and cane. Beet sugar is always vegan and so is raw cane sugar, however in order for the cane sugar to fit products better, it’s often refined.
In the refining process the sugar is also bleached and a common method is to use bone char from dead cows. This has made many vegan suspicious to sugar and some staying away from all products containing sugar. Personally I eat sugar, because the biggest win for the animals is the plant-based diet.
Palm Oil
The second questionable ingredient is palm oil, which has made many people upset not only vegans. Ever since the severe deforestation was made aware for the public, many people around the world are staying away from products containing palm oil.
The deforestation is leading to wild life being forced away from their natural habitats such as orangutans and rhinos. This industry is causing suffering to these animals and this does not align with vegansim.
However there is a way to make the palm oil more vegan-friendly and it’s called RSPO. It’s a non-profit organisation that helps companies produce and buy sustainable palm oil. I can’t find Grippo’s at the members area, making the palm oil not vegan-friendly.
Corn
Corn is a common GMO crop and some vegans tends to stay away from GMO’s. The problem with GMO crops is the high amount of herbicide needed to grow the corn. This can pollute the surrounding ecosystem causing severe environmental damage.
There is a certification called non GMO Project and this is a way for companies to show that their product don’t contain any GMO’s. So if you want to be sure your product don’t contain any GMO’s, then look for the non GMO project label.
Vegan Alternative To Grippo’s Chips
There are many chips brands that has vegan chips flavors such as Zapp’s, Lay’s and Ruffles. I made a big list of vegan chips flavors that you can checkout and hopefully find a taste alternative to Grippo’s.
Conclusion
The Grippo’s chips can’t really be called vegan because it looks like the palm oil is not RSPO-certified. I couldn’t find their membership over at RSPO’s website. It’s not only important for vegans that the product does not contain any animal-derived ingredients, but also that no animals are harmed in the production process.
Thanks for reading, take care!
