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Life Savers candy is a sweet and delicious candy snack available in a variety of different fruit and mint flavors that are enjoyed by children and adults alike. If you’re a vegan and thought about trying Life Savers, then you have come the right place. Today I will be answering the question; are Life Savers vegan?
Life Savers are not vegan. The main reason is the fact they contain artificial colors and these are still beeing tested on animals. Life Savers Gummies also contain gelatin, which is derived from animals and is therefore off the menu for vegans. Life Savers Orange Mints Candy and Life Savers Pep O Mint Hard Candy both contain stearic acid, which could be made from animals.
I created a table below with all the flavors I could find together with the vegan status.
| Flavor | Vegan Status |
| Life Savers Hard Candy 5 Flavors | No, it contains Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1. |
| Life Savers Pep O Mint Hard Candy | Might be vegan, but contains Stearic Acid. |
| Life Savers Orange Mints Candy | No, it cointains Aspartame, Stearic Acid, Yellow 6. |
| Life Savers Butter Rum Hard Candy | No, it contains Palm Kernel Oil and Cottonseed Oil. |
| Life Savers Sours Gummies | No, it contains Gelatin, Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1, Carnauba Wax. |
| Life Savers 5 Flavors Gummies | No, it contains Gelatin, Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1. |
| Life Savers Sours Gummies Collisions | No, it contains Gelatin, Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1, Carnauba Wax. |
Next up we will take a look at each ingredient and explain why they are non-vegan or questionable.
Life Savers Ingredients
Below is all the ingredient I could find from all the flavors of Life Savers.
- Sugar
- Dextrose
- Corn Syrup
- Water
- High Fructose Corn Syrup
- Modified Corn Starch
- Gelatin
- Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Palm Kernel and Cottonseed Oils)
- Vinegar
- Carnauba Wax
- Citric Acid
- Stearic Acid
- Artificial Colors (Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1,Yellow 6)
- Natural and Artificial Flavors
- Molasses
- Salt
- Caramel Color
- Mineral Oil
- Fumaric Acid – vegan
- Lactic Acid
- Aspartame
As you can see a lot of ingredients have been highlighted in bold, not just because they might contain ingredients derived from animals, but because they are not cruelty-free.
The only way to be sure a product is vegan is to look for vegan labels.
You can find them here.
Non-Vegan Ingredients
Artificial colors
Typically you’ll find that Red 40, Blue 1, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 are all used to give Life Savers their bright colour and unfortunately these colours are tested on animals in labs.
Needless to say, this ethically goes against everything that veganism stands for, so artificial colors are off the menu.
If these colors were not tested on animals they would then be classed as vegan-friendly.
Gelatin
Gelatin is used in some varieties of Life Savers and this ingredient is NOT suitable for vegans.
Gelatin is made by boiling up animal tendons, bones, cartilage and organs in water.
It is usually made from pigs or cows and is used as a thickening agent as, when it sets, it gives a thick jelly-like consistency.
Aspartame
Aspartame is an artificial sweetener which is used in products instead of sugar to give them a sweet taste.
Despite aspartame not being derived from living creatures as it is artificial, it is unfortunately tested on animals in laboratories which means that it is not suitable for vegans.
Aspartame has also been linked with numerous health issues, including:
- Metabolic syndrome
- Migraines
- Increased risk of cancer
- ADHD in young children
Palm Kernel Oil
Palm kernel oil is a very controversial ingredient, in that, despite being plant-based, it is still widely boycotted in the vegan community.
The reason for this is due to the fact that harvesting palm kernel oil has resulted in deforestation and high damage to the environment and the habitats of Orangutans.
The promising news is that palm oil can be vegan friendly, if the company is an RSPO member (Round Table for Sustainable Palm Oil).
This organization has developed a specific set of environmental and social criteria which companies must meet in order for their palm oil to be certified as RSPO.
If the palm kernel oil is 100% RSPO certified it is vegan friendly.
Anything less than that means it is not suitable for vegans.
According to Mars they don’t use 100% RSPO certified palm oil yet so therefore this ingredient is not vegan.
Questionable Ingredients
Sugar & Dextrose
Not all sugar is suitable for vegans because of the fact that some sugar manufacturers use bone char to refine the sugar.
Bone char is literally made from animal bones that have been burned and roasted until they form a charcoal.
The char is then used to filter and refine the sugar and give it a white color.
Corn Syrup, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Modified Corn Starch & Citric Acid
High fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, modified corn starch, and citric acid are also questionable ingredients, due to the fact that they contain GMOs, which can have negative impacts on the environment and eco-systems.
Stearic Acid
Stearic acid is a saturated fatty acid which is used as a binder in food manufacturing.
The reason it is controversial is the fact that it can come from animal fat sources, or plant-based sources.
To add further confusion, stearic acid can also actually be synthetic as well.
Natural and Artificial Flavors
Natural and artificial flavors used in Life Savers are also questionable in the vegan community, due to the fact that these flavors can be plant-based but can also be derived from animals as well in some cases.
Related Questions
Are Life Savers Vegetarian?
Yes, Life Savers candy and mints are indeed vegetarian as they contain no ingredients derived from animals. The exception here would be Life Savers gummies, which contain gelatin which is made from the collagen of various animal body parts.
Are Life Savers Kosher?
Life Savers are NOT kosher. One reason for this is the fact that some of the varieties of corn used in the production of the corn syrup does not pass the guidelines required to make it Kosher. As well as that, some varieties, I.E the gummies, contain gelatin derived from pork, plus there is also the risk of the sugar containing bone char.
Are Life Savers Halal?
Finally, we’ll take a look at whether or not Life Savers are considered Halal. Life Savers gummies, which do contain gelatin, are NOT Halal because gelatin is nearly always derived from pigs.
Vegan Alternative To Life Savers
I actually found a great vegan alternative to Life Savers called YumEarth.
You can check them out here at amazon.
If you want more want vegan candy ideas please checkout my Best Vegan Candy List 2021.
Conclusion
As you can see from the above, Life Savers contain several ingredients which are not vegan-friendly, as well as many other questionable ingredients.
It is impossible to call Life Savers vegan.
The vegan diet is so much more than just a diet it’s a lifestyle and simply saying that a product does not contain animal-derived ingredients does not mean it’s suitable for vegans.
