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Runts candy has been a favorite of kids and adults alike since its debut in 1982. Created by the Candy Division of the Nestlé Company, this colorful treat comes in a variety of fruit flavors including banana, grape, orange, raspberry, and strawberry. But, are Runts vegan?
Runts Theater Box candy is not vegan because it contains carmine color.
Below is a table showing Runts flavors and its vegan status.
| Flavor | Vegan Status |
| Runts Theater Box | No, contains Carmine Color. |
Runts Ingredients
Below is a list of ingredients from all the flavors that I could find.
- Blue 1
- Blue 1 Lake
- Blue 2 Lake
- Calcium Stearate
- Carmine Color
- Carnauba Wax
- Corn Syrup
- Dextrose
- Malic Acid
- Maltodextrin
- Natural Flavors
- Red 40 Lake
- Yellow 5
- Yellow 5 Lake
- Yellow 6
[Source]
As always I’ve highlighted the ingredients that we need to take a closer look at.
Non-Vegan Ingredients
Carmine Color
Carmine or shellac as it’s also called is made from secret from bugs in Asia. This makes this ingredient non-vegan.
Questionable Ingredients
Natural Flavors
Natural flavors are often a mix of several ingredients and the problem with this is the fact that the source of these ingredients are never disclosed on the ingredients label.
This means that ingredients sourced from animals could be added and there’s no way of knowing if this ingredient is vegan or not.
Artificial Colors
When it comes to artificial colors, vegan split into two groups: ethical vegans and dietary vegans. Ethical vegans tends to stay away from artificial colors while dietary vegans might eat these colors. The problem with these colors is the animal-testing that has been conducted over the years.
There are other testing methods such as computer simulations that can do a great job instead. There are also health issues linked to artificial colors such as hyperactivity in younger people.
Corn
The reason I mention corn is because it’s one of the most common GMO crops in USA. GMO crops requires a high amount of herbicide and this can pollute the surrounding environment and damage the ecosystem severely.
Conclusion
Unfortunately for vegans Runts candy is vegan-friendly. Luckily for vegans there are many vegan-friendly options today such as YumEarth that has a wide collection of different vegan-friendly candies.
Thanks for reading, take care!
