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Few breakfast cereals have been as iconic as Count Chocula. Since its introduction to the market in 1971, the chocolate-flavored cereal has become a beloved staple in households all around the world. But, is Count Chocula vegan?
Count Chocula cereal is not vegan because it contains gelatin.
Below is a table showing Count Chocula flavors and its vegan status.
| Flavor | Vegan Status |
| Monster Cereal Count Chocula | No, contains Gelatin. |
Count Chocula Ingredients
Below is a list of ingredients from all the flavors that I could find.
- A B Vitamin (Folic Acid)
- A B Vitamin (Niacinamide)
- Blue 1
- Calcium Carbonate
- Canola Oil
- Cocoa Processed With Alkali
- Corn Meal
- Corn Syrup
- Dextrose
- Gelatin
- Iron And Zinc (Mineral Nutrients)
- Modified Corn Starch
- Natural And Artificial Flavor
- Red 40
- Salt
- Sugar
- Sunflower Oil
- Trisodium Phosphate
- Vitamin A (Palmitate)
- Vitamin B1 (Thiamin Mononitrate)
- Vitamin B12
- Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)
- Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine Hydrochloride)
- Vitamin C (Sodium Ascorbate)
- Vitamin D
- Whole Grain Corn
- Yellow 5 & 6
[Source]
As always I’ve highlighted the ingredients that we need to take a closer look at.
Non-Vegan Ingredients
Gelatin
Gelatin is often made from bones and ligaments from animals and is not a vegan-friendly ingredient.
Questionable Ingredients
Sugar
Sugar is a controversial ingredient within the vegan community and reason for this is the possible presence of bone char. In the production process the cane sugar is often refined to fit the product and in this process the sugar is also bleached.
A common method to bleach the sugar is to use bone char from dead cows and this does not align with veganism. It’s impossible to know this just by reading the ingredients label and therefore it’s best to contact that company and ask or to stay away from sugar.
Natural Flavors
This is an umbrella term, meaning that it’s often an ingredient that consists of several ingredients without the source of these ingredients being disclosed on the ingredients label. This means that the ingredients could be animal-derived which would make it non-vegan and we wouldn’t know unless we contacted the company and ask.
Artificial Colors
This ingredient is another controversial one within the vegan community. The ingredient is known for being tested on animals. A lot of vegans tend to stay away for this reason. Blue 1, Red 40 and Yellow 5 & 6 can be found in Count Chocula.
There are other testing methods such as computer simulations that do a great job instead, but many foods are still being tested on animals. Another reason to why many vegans stay away from artificial colors is the health issues connected to them.
Vitamin D, B12 & Trisodium Phosphate
This can be sourced from both animals and plants.
Corn
Corn is one of the most common GMO crops in the US and the reason my vegans tends to stay away from GMO’s is the negative impact on the environment. GMO crops needs a high amount of herbicide to grow and this can pollute the surrounding ecosystem.
Conclusion
A common problem with cereals today is the fact that many non-vegan ingredients are often used such as Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D3. This makes it hard for vegans to find great vegan-friendly cereal flavors, but veganism are getting more and more popular resulting in more brands making vegan-friendly cereal options for their customers.
Thanks for reading, take care!
