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Betty Crocker has been a household name for decades and continues to be a favorite amongst bakers. From her original cake mixes to her famous icing, Betty Crocker has been a staple in kitchens around the world. But, is Betty Crocker Icing vegan?
From reading the ingredients, Betty Crocker Whipped Fluffy White Frosting is vegan and more flavor might also be vegan but they contain either Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate or Natural & Artificial Flavors, which could be sourced from animals.
Below is a table showing Betty Crocker Icing flavors and its vegan status.
| Flavor | Vegan Status |
| Betty Crocker Cherry Rich & Creamy Frosting | Maybe, contains Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate. |
| Betty Crocker Chocolate Rich & Creamy Frosting | Maybe, contains Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate. |
| Betty Crocker Coconut Pecan Rich & Creamy Frosting | No, contains Milk. |
| Betty Crocker Cream Cheese Rich & Creamy Frosting | No, contains Milk. |
| Betty Crocker Creamy White Rich & Creamy Frosting | Maybe, contains Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate. |
| Betty Crocker Dark Chocolate Rich & Creamy Frosting | Maybe, contains Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate. |
| Betty Crocker Lemon Rich & Creamy Frosting | Maybe, contains Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate. |
| Betty Crocker Milk Chocolate Rich & Creamy Frosting | Maybe, contains Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate. |
| Betty Crocker Rainbow Chip Rich & Creamy Frosting | No, contains Milk. |
| Betty Crocker Vanilla Rich & Creamy Frosting | Maybe, contains Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate. |
| Betty Crocker Whipped Butter Cream Frosting | Maybe, contains Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate. |
| Betty Crocker Whipped Chocolate Frosting | Maybe, contains Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate. |
| Betty Crocker Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting | Maybe, contains Natural Flavor. |
| Betty Crocker Whipped Fluffy White Frosting | Vegan. |
| Betty Crocker Whipped Milk Chocolate Frosting | Maybe, contains Natural & Artificial Flavors. |
| Betty Crocker Whipped Strawberry Mist Frosting | Dietary Vegan, contains Artificial Colors. |
| Betty Crocker Whipped Vanilla Frosting | Dietary Vegan, contains Artificial Colors. |
| Betty Crocker Whipped Whipped Cream Frosting | Maybe, contains Natural & Artificial Flavors. |
| HERSHEY’S Milk Chocolate Frosting | Maybe, contains Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate. |
Betty Crocker Icing Ingredients
Below is a list of ingredients from all the flavors that I could find.
- Blue 1
- Blue 2
- Calcium Chloride
- Cellulose Gel
- Cellulose Gum
- Citric Acid
- Cocoa Processed With Alkali
- Coconut
- Corn Starch
- Corn Syrup
- Dextrose
- Egg Yolk
- Ethoxylated Mono And Diglycerides
- High Fructose Corn Syrup
- Milk
- Monoglycerides
- Natural And Artificial Flavor
- Nonfat Milk
- Palm Oil
- Pecan
- Pectin
- Polysorbate 60
- Polysorbate 80
- Propylene Glycol
- Red 40
- Salt
- Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate
- Sodium Alginate
- Sodium Metabisulfite And Sodium Benzoate
- Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate
- Soy
- Soy Flour
- Sugar
- Yellow 5
- Water
[Source]
As always I’ve highlighted the ingredients that we need to take a closer look at.
Non-Vegan Ingredients
Milk & Egg
Since both milk and eggs comes from animals, they are both non-vegan.
Questionable Ingredients
Sugar
Sugar is a tricky ingredient within the vegan community because there is an instance where cane sugar could be classified as non-vegan. The reason for this, is the possibility of bone char being used in the production process.
Raw cane sugar is always vegan-friendly, however when the cane sugar is refined, that’s another story. Before the cane sugar is used in many products, it’s often refined and in this process the cane sugar is also bleached, where a common method is to use bone char.
And exploiting animals in the production process does not align with veganism.
Natural Flavor
Natural flavors is an umbrella term, meaning that it can contain several ingredients. This makes it hard for vegans to know if it’s vegan-friendly or not and the reason for this is because the source of these ingredients are not disclosed on the ingredients label.
Artificial Color
This is a pretty controversial ingredient within the vegan community. It’s known for being tested on animals. So ethical vegans tends to stay away, while dietary vegans sometimes choose to consume products that contain these artificial colors.
We don’t know if it’s still being tested on animals and that is why it’s highly questionable. There are also a lot of health issues related to artificial colors and one of them being hyperactivity in kids.
Palm Oil
Palm oil is a very controversial ingredient. Not only for vegans, but for people all over the world. Palm oil is known for its amazing productivity per square meter. Even tho this is the case, a lot of deforestation is taking place to make room for the farms.
This is a disaster for the ecosystem and the wild life. Orangutans and rhinos are being forced from their homes and the rain forest is slowly disappearing. Ethical vegans and people are taking a stand against palm oil industry, but it still remains the most popular vegetable oil in the world.
You will see a lot of vegan certified products contain palm oil and the reason for this is because it’s often sustainable palm oil. There is an organization called RSPO and they help companies produce and buy sustainable palm oil with minimum impact on the environment.
Corn & Soy
Corn and soy are two of the most common GMO crops in the US and a problem with this is the high amount of herbicide needed in order for the crops to grow. This can the pollute the surrounding ecosystem and damage it severely.
Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate & Mono And Diglycerides
Both these ingredient can be sourced from animals and plants.
Conclusion
Only one of the flavor could be considered vegan by analyzing the ingredients, but more flavors could be vegan-friendly. There are many questionable ingredients and some of the could contain or be sourced from animals.
Thanks for reading, take care!
