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Stauffer’s Animal Crackers are a classic American snack that have been around for over 100 years. These delicious crackers come in a variety of animal shapes and are a favorite among kids and adults alike. But, are Stauffer’s Animal Crackers vegan?
Stauffer’s Animal Crackers maybe vegan, but they contain natural flavors, which can contains ingredients sourced from animals.
Below is a table showing Stauffer’s Animal Crackers flavors and its vegan status.
| Flavor | Vegan Status |
| Stauffer’s Animal Crackers Original | Maybe. contains Natural Flavors. |
| Stauffer’s Animal Crackers Chocolate | Maybe. contains Natural Flavors. |
| Stauffer’s Animal Cookies Iced | Maybe. contains Natural Flavors. |
Stauffer’s Animal Crackers Ingredients
Below is a list of ingredients from all the flavors that I could find.
- Baking Soda (Leavening)
- Caramel Color
- Chocolate
- Cocoa (Processed With Alkali)
- Enriched Flour
- Blue 1
- Yellow 6
- Folic Acid
- Graham Flour
- High Fructose Corn Syrup
- Malted Barley Flour
- Natural And Artificial Flavor
- Natural Flavor
- Niacin
- Reduced Iron
- Riboflavin [Vitamin B2]
- Salt
- Soy Lecithin (An Emulsifier)
- Soybean Oil
- Spice
- Sugar
- Thiamine Mononitrate [Vitamin B1]
[Source]
As always I’ve highlighted the ingredients that we need to take a closer look at.
Questionable Ingredients
Sugar
Sugar is a tricky ingredient for vegan because there is a situation where sugar could be classified as non-vegan. The most common sugar types used are beet sugar and cane sugar, with the latter being the most popular one in candy and snacks.
Before the cane sugar is used it’s often refined and in that process it’s also bleached. One of the most common bleaching methods is to use bone char from dead cows and this does not align well with veganism.
Artificial Colors
The second questionable ingredient is artificial colors and the problem with these colors is the animal testing that has been done and maybe still are going on today. There are other testing methods that works great such as computer simulations. There are also some health issues connected to artificial colors such as hyper activity in kids.
Natural Flavors
Natural flavors is an umbrella term, meaning that it often consists of several ingredients and the source of these ingredients are almost never disclosed on the ingredients label. So the problem for vegans is that the ingredients could be sourced from animals and there is way of knowing this just by reading natural flavors on the ingredients label.
Unless the product is labeled vegan, the best way to contact the company and ask if their natural flavors is vegan-friendly.
Corn
Corn is one of the most common GMO crops in USA and many vegans tends to stay away from GMOs. The reason for this is that GMO crops requires a high amount of herbicide and this can pollute the surrounding ecosystem, damaging it beyond repair.
Conclusion
It’s hard to say if Stauffer’s Animal Crackers are vegan because of the natural flavors, most of the time this ingredient will be vegan-friendly, but we cannot be sure. The artificial colors makes a lot of ethical vegans to stay away from this product as well. Personally I eat sugar and don’t dig too deep trying to find out about the bone char.
Thanks for reading, take care!
