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Keebler wafers are one of the most iconic cookies in America. First introduced in 1853, Keebler wafers have been a staple in cookie jars across the country for generations. They are enjoyed by many, but can they fit different lifestyles? More specifically, are Keebler sugar wafers vegan?
Keebler Sugar Wafers strawberry, vanilla and chocolate are suited for dietary vegans because they don’t contain any ingredients derived from animals.
Below is a table showing Keebler Sugar Wafers flavors and its vegan status.
| Flavor | Vegan Status |
| Keebler Sugar Wafers Strawberry | Dietary vegan, contains Red 40 Lake and Red 3. |
| Keebler Sugar Wafers Vanilla | Dietary vegan, Yellow 5, Yellow 6 and Red 3. |
| Keebler Sugar Wafers Chocolate | Dietary vegan, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Red 40, Red 3 and Blue 1. |
Keebler Sugar Wafers Ingredients
Below is a list of ingredients from all the flavors that I could find.
- Artificial Flavor
- Baking Soda
- Blue 1
- Canola
- Cornstarch
- Citric Acid
- Cocoa Processed With Alkali
- Dextrose
- Enriched Flour
- Folic Acid
- Malted Barley Flour
- Niacin
- Palm Oil
- Red 3
- Red 40 Lake
- Reduced Iron
- Salt
- Soy Lecithin
- Sugar
- Vitamin B1 [thiamin Mononitrate]
- Vitamin B2 [riboflavin]
- Yellow 5
- Yellow 6
- Wheat Flour
[Source]
As always I’ve highlighted the ingredients that we need to take a closer look at.
Questionable Ingredients
Sugar
Sugar can be a tricky ingredient for vegans and with good reason. The most common sugar in the snacks and candy industry is cane sugar, more specifically refined cane sugar. It often needs to be refined to fit the product better.
The refined cane sugar also goes through a bleaching process and this is where the problem lies. A common bleaching method is to actually use bone char from dead cows. This does not align well with vegan, because exploiting animals in the production process is a no go.
So many vegans tends to stay from sugar with no specified source, because there are instances where sugar is perfectly vegan such as beet sugar or raw cane sugar.
Palm Oil
Palm oil is a major controversial ingredient. Not just by vegans, but many people around the world. The deforestation issues, was brought to the public and a result of was a major boycott of products that contains palm oil.
A solution was set in place to but an end to the deforestation and to help companies to produce more sustainable palm oil with minimum impact on the environment. It’s called RSPO which stands for Roundtable on sustainable palm oil.
The company that owns Keebler is Kellogg and they are a member of RSPO, which means that the palm oil is vegan-friendly.
Artificial Colors
Many different artificial colors can be find within all flavors of Keebler sugar wafers. These include:
- Blue 1
- Red 3
- Red 40 Lake
- Yellow #5
- Yellow #6
These colors is a highly discussed topic within the vegan community. It’s known that animal testing has been done in the past for these and probably still is today. The testing was done mostly on rats and no matter what animals is exploited, it is not accepted by vegans.
There are also several health issues connected to artificial colors such as hyper activity in kids.
Corn & Soy
Corn and soy are two of the most common GMO crops in USA. This bothers some vegans, because it needs a high amount of herbicide to produce high amounts of crops and this can pollute the surrounding ecosystem, damaging them severely.
A lot of vegans tends to look for products that are non GMO project certified.
Vegan Alternative To Keebler Sugar Wafers
Now I managed to find a great vegan alternative called Ruger Wafers. They have several vegan flavors and listed two of the most common ones below.
Ruger Sugar Free Vanilla Wafers
Ruger Sugar Free Chocolate Wafers
FAQ
Are Keebler Sugar Wafers Vegetarian?
All flavors of Keebler sugar wafers are vegetarian.
| Flavor | Vegetarian Status |
| Keebler Sugar Wafers Strawberry | Vegetarian. |
| Keebler Sugar Wafers Vanilla | Vegetarian. |
| Keebler Sugar Wafers Chocolate | Vegetarian. |
Conclusion
It’s hard to know if a product is vegan or not today, with so many lesser known ingredients hitting the mark and Keebler sugar wafers are no different. It’s great that they are suited for dietary vegans, however ethical vegans might stay away because of the artificial colors.
I found a great alternative that is also a non GMO project, which is amazing. They are called Ruger Wafers, you should really check them out as well.
Thanks for reading, take care!
