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In this article, we will be discussing Kroger marshmallows. Kroger is a grocery store chain that sells a variety of food items, including marshmallows. These marshmallows are a great addition to any grocery list, as they are both affordable and delicious. But, are Kroger marshmallows vegan?
Kroger marshmallows are not vegan because they contain gelatin.
Below is a table showing Kroger marshmallows flavors and its vegan status.
| Flavor | Vegan Status |
| Kroger Marshmallows | No, contains Gelatin. |
Kroger Marshmallows Ingredients
Below is a list of ingredients from all the flavors that I could find.
- Corn Syrup
- Sugar
- Modified Corn Starch
- Gelatin
- Water
- Dextrose
- Natural and Artificial Flavor
- Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate
[Source]
As always I’ve highlighted the ingredients that we need to take a closer look at.
Non-Vegan Ingredients
Gelatin
Gelatin is derived from animals in the form of boiling bones, skins and ligaments in water. This ingredient is not vegan for that reason.
Questionable Ingredients
Sugar
This ingredient is a controversial one, because there is a scenario where sugar could be classified as non-vegan. In the candy and sweets industry, cane sugar is often used and in it’s raw form this sugar is indeed 100% vegan, however when it’s refined it might not be.
Cane sugar is often refined and bleached to fit the product better and a common bleaching method is to use bone char from dead cows. This caused a problem for vegans because exploiting animals in the production process does not align with veganism.
There is no evidence of the bone char contaminating the sugar, but the mere fact that it’s used, has made many vegan upset and staying away from cane sugar all together.
Natural & Artificial Flavor
Artificial flavor is most often vegan, because it’s made from chemicals, however natural flavors is a whole other story. Natural flavors is an umbrella term, meaning that companies can put any ingredient they wish without needing to disclose it as anything else than natural flavors.
This means that animal-derived ingredient could be present and there is no way for vegans to know the content of natural flavors. So the only way to be sure is if the product is indeed labeled vegan from a trusted organisation such as vegan.org or vegan society. A second way could be contacting the company and ask them directly.
Corn
I felt the need to mention the presence of GMO when it comes to corn because it’s a very common GMO crop. A high amount of herbicide is needed when growing GMO crops and this can damage the surrounding ecosystems severely. Therefore many vegans tends to look from product that has the label non GMO project, because it’s the only way to be sure that the product does not contain any GMO’s.
Vegan Alternative To Kroger Marshmallows
I found a great vegan alternative called Dandies Vegan Marshmallows, which are delicious.
Conclusion
It’s too bad that Kroger marshmallows are not vegan, because they really are delicious. I found a great alternative that tastes just as good, lucky for us vegans!
Gelatin is a common problem for vegans because it’s a very popular ingredient in many marshmallow brands. So always be on the lookout of this ingredient.
Thanks for reading, take care!
