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Kewpie Mayo is a unique and flavorful condiment that is gaining popularity in the United States. Originating from Japan, Kewpie Mayo has been embraced by chefs, home cooks, and food enthusiasts around the world as an irreplaceable ingredient. But, is Kewpie Mayo vegan?
Most flavors of Kewpie Mayonnaise are not vegan because they contain egg yolk, but Kewpie has one egg free mayonnaise, which is indeed vegan.
Below is a table showing Kewpie Mayo flavors and its vegan status.
Flavor | Vegan Status | Link |
Kewpie Mayonnaise | No, contains Eggs. | |
Kewpie Mayonnaise Egg Free | Vegan. | View On Amazon |
Kewpie Mayo Ingredients
Below is a list of ingredients from all the flavors that I could find.
- Canola Oil
- Egg Yolk
- Monosodium Glutamate
- Natural Flavor
- Salt
- Soybean Oil
- Spice
- Vinegar
[Source]
As always I’ve highlighted the ingredients that we need to take a closer look at.
Non-Vegan Ingredients
Egg
Since the eggs comes from hens, it’s not a vegan-friendly ingredient.
Questionable Ingredients
Natural Flavors
Natural flavors is a tricky ingredient to talk about, because it’s an umbrella term. This means that companies can add whatever ingredient they wish to accomplish their taste and only call it natural flavor. The problem is that many products contain natural flavors and it’s impossible for vegans to know if it’s vegan-friendly or not.
The reason for this is because the source of the ingredients is not disclosed and just by reading the ingredients label, it appears to be vegan. But it could potentially contain ingredients sourced from animals.
Soy
Soy is one of the most common GMO crops in the US. The problem with GMO’s is the fact that it requires a high amount of herbicide, which can pollute the surrounding ecosystem. It can damage the environment severely and that is why vegans tends to look for products labeled non GMO project.
Conclusion
It’s great that Kewpie has one egg-free mayonnaise that vegans can enjoy. The problem with mayonnaise is that it’s often based on egg yolks, which makes most of brands and flavors you find non-vegan. I found the Kewpie original mayonnaise can be found in USA according to their website.
The egg-free flavor can be found on Amazon, but it’s hard to know if it’s available.
Thanks for reading, take care!