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Even tho the base ingredient is potatoes in chips, that does not mean that all are vegan, far from it. Today I’m answering the question, are Martin’s potato chips vegan?
Martin’s Barbecue Waffle Flavored Potato Chips, Sea Salt Flavored Dippin’ and Bar-B-Q Waffle are vegan because they don’t contain any animal-derived ingredients.
Below is a table showing Martin’s potato chips flavors and its vegan status.
| Flavor | Vegan Status |
| Martin’s Barbecue Waffle Potato Chips | Vegan. |
| Martin’s Sea Salt Dippin’ Potato Chips | Vegan. |
| Martin’s Bar-B-Q Waffle Potato Chips | Vegan. |
| Martin’s Kettle-Cook’d Potato Chips | No, contains non RSPO Palm Oil. |
| Martin’s Red Hot Potato Chips | Dietary Vegans only, contains artificial colors. |
| Martin’s Sour Cream & Onion Potato Chips | No, contains Milk. |
| Martin’s Sea Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips | No, contains Milk. |
| Martin’s Crunchy Ridged Potato Chips Cheddar & Sour Cream Flavored | No, contains Milk. |
| Martin’s Crunchy Ridged Potato Chips Honey Bar-B-Q Flavored | No, contains Honey. |
For more vegan chips options see our new top list of vegan chips flavors.
Martin’s Potato Chips Ingredients
Below is a list of ingredients from all the flavors that I could find.
- Barbecue Seasoning
- Brown Sugar
- Butter
- Buttermilk
- Cheddar And Sour Cream Seasoning
- Cheddar Cheese
- Cheese Culture
- Citric Acid
- Coconut Oil
- Corn Flour
- Corn Maltodextrin
- Corn Starch
- Corn Syrup Solids
- Cultured Nonfat Milk
- Dehydrated Chili Pepper
- Dehydrated Garlic
- Dehydrated Onion
- Dehydrated Tomato
- Dextrose
- Disodium Inosinate And Disodium Guanylate
- Enzymes
- Extractive Of Paprika
- Extractives Of Annatto)
- Extractives Of Paprika
- Fructose
- Garlic Powder
- Hydrolyzed Corn Protein
- Lactic Acid
- Lactose
- Malic Acid
- Maltodextrin
- Molasses
- Monosodium Glutamate
- Natural And Artificial Flavors
- Natural Smoke Flavor
- Nonfat Milk
- Onion
- Onion Powder
- Organic Honey Powder
- Organic Honey
- Paprika
- Parsley
- Potatoes
- Pure Vegetable Shortening (Soybean)
- Red #40 Lake
- Red Hot Seasoning
- Salt
- Salt & Vinegar Seasoning
- Sea Salt
- Sodium Caseinate
- Sodium Citrate
- Sodium Diacetate
- Sour Cream & Onion Seasoning
- Honey Bbq Seasoning
- Spice
- Spices
- Soybean
- Sugar
- Sunflower
- Tocopherols And Ascorbyl Palmitate
- Torula Yeast
- Whey Protein Concentrate
- Yellow Corn Flour
- Yellow Lake #5
- Yellow Lake #6
[Source]
As always I’ve highlighted the ingredients that we need to take a closer look at.
Non-Vegan Ingredients
Milk
There are several ingredient made by cow’s milk such as whey and lactose that can be found in some of the flavors.
These ingredients are not vegan.
Honey
This ingredient is not vegan-friendly since we are exploiting bees for their honey and replacing it with sugar instead.
Questionable Ingredients
Sugar
In the candy and snacks industry there are often two types of sugar used and that is beet- or cane sugar. The latter being the most common and it can be an issue for vegan in the production process. In order for the cane sugar to fit the product better it needs to be refined and this refining process it is also bleached.
A common practice is to use bone char from dead cows and this would make the cane sugar considered non-vegan. The beet sugar is always 100% vegan-friendly and so is raw cane sugar.
It’s impossible to know the source and production process of the sugar unless you contact the company and ask.
Natural Flavors
This ingredient is also a controversial ingredient because animal-derived ingredients can be found put here and it’s mostly not disclosed on the ingredient label. Most brand do however disclose if natural contains milk and this is a good thing.
There is an interesting article at National Geographic where they found out that butt goo from beavers can be used in vanilla flavors. So you can never be sure, when it comes to flavor ingredients.
Artificial Colors
The third controversial ingredient on the list are artificial colors. This ingredient has the vegan community a bit divided. These colors are known for being tested on animals so ethical vegans tends to stay away. As for dietary vegan a.k.a. people eating a plant-based diet, it’s a choice to consume products with artificial colors, because the colors itself are not derived from animals.
Now there are other methods of testing such as computer simulation do a great job instead. There are also health issues connected to some of the colors such as hyperactivity in children.
Corn
The last questionable ingredient is corn and the reason for this is the fact that it is one of the most common GMO crops in USA. Why would this be a problem for vegans? Well in order to gain good yields a high amount of herbicide is used and this can damage the surrounding ecosystems severely.
FAQ
Are Martin’s Potato Chips Vegetarian?
Almost all flavors of Martin’s potato chips are suited for all vegetarians except Sour Cream & Onion, Sea Salt & Vinegar and Cheddar & Sour Cream that are suited for lacto-ovo and lacto vegetarians.
| Flavor | Vegan Status |
| Martin’s Kettle-Cook’d Potato Chips | All Vegetarians. |
| Martin’s Barbecue Waffle Potato Chips | All Vegetarians. |
| Martin’s Sea Salt Dippin’ Potato Chips | All Vegetarians. |
| Martin’s Bar-B-Q Waffle Potato Chips | All Vegetarians. |
| Martin’s Red Hot Potato Chips | All Vegetarians. |
| Martin’s Sour Cream & Onion Potato Chips | Lacto-Ovo & Lacto. |
| Martin’s Sea Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips | Lacto-Ovo & Lacto. |
| Martin’s Crunchy Ridged Potato Chips Cheddar & Sour Cream | Lacto-Ovo & Lacto. |
| Martin’s Crunchy Ridged Potato Chips Honey Bar-B-Q Flavored | All Vegetarians. |
Conclusion
Four vegan flavors of Martin’s potato chips is great.
I hope you found the article helpful and can help you in your vegan journey.
Thanks for reading, take care!
