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Laffy Taffy is a classic candy that has been bringing smiles to faces for decades. It is chewy, sweet, and comes in a variety of flavors that can make anyone smile. But, is Laffy Taffy vegan?
Laffy Taffy Minis and Ropes might be vegan but they contain mono- & diglycerides and natural flavors, which could contain ingredients sourced from animals.
Below is a table showing Laffy Taffy flavors and its vegan status.
| Flavor | Vegan Status |
| Laffy Taffy Minis Banana | Maybe, Mono- & Diglycerides and Natural Flavors. |
| Laffy Taffy Minis Cherry | Maybe, Mono- & Diglycerides and Natural Flavors. |
| Laffy Taffy Minis Grape | Maybe, Mono- & Diglycerides and Natural Flavors. |
| Laffy Taffy Minis Sour Apple | Maybe, Mono- & Diglycerides and Natural Flavors. |
| Laffy Taffy Minis Wild Blue Raspberry | Maybe, Mono- & Diglycerides and Natural Flavors. |
| Laffy Taffy Minis Strawberry | Maybe, Mono- & Diglycerides and Natural Flavors. |
| Laffy Taffy Stretchy & Tangy Banana | No, contains Egg Albumen. |
| Laffy Taffy Stretchy & Tangy Cherry | No, contains Egg Albumen. |
| Laffy Taffy Stretchy & Tangy Grape | No, contains Egg Albumen. |
| Laffy Taffy Stretchy & Tangy Strawberry | No, contains Egg Albumen. |
| Laffy Taffy Stretchy & Tangy Watermelon | No, contains Egg Albumen. |
| Laffy Taffy Stretchy & Tangy Sparkle Cherry | No, contains Egg Albumen. |
| Laffy Taffy Ropes Banana | Maybe, Mono- & Diglycerides and Natural Flavors. |
| Laffy Taffy Ropes Cherry | Maybe, Mono- & Diglycerides and Natural Flavors. |
| Laffy Taffy Ropes Grape | Maybe, Mono- & Diglycerides and Natural Flavors. |
| Laffy Taffy Ropes Sour Apple | Maybe, Mono- & Diglycerides and Natural Flavors. |
| Laffy Taffy Ropes Blue Raspberry | Maybe, Mono- & Diglycerides and Natural Flavors. |
| Laffy Taffy Ropes Strawberry | Maybe, Mono- & Diglycerides and Natural Flavors. |
| Laffy Taffy Ropes Mystery Swirl | Maybe, Mono- & Diglycerides and Natural Flavors. |
| Laffy Taffy Candy Laff Bites | No, contains Gelatin. |
| Laffy Taffy Candy Bites Tropical | No, contains Gelatin. |
| Laffy Taffy Candy Bites Gone Bananas | No, contains Gelatin. |
Laffy Taffy Ingredients
Below is a list of ingredients from all the flavors that I could find.
- Carnauba Wax
- Citric Acid
- Corn Syrup
- Gelatin
- Gum Acacia
- Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil
- Malic Acid
- Mono- And Diglycerides
- Natural Flavors
- Palm Oil
- Red 40
- Salt
- Soy Lecithin
- Sugar
- Titanium Dioxide (Color)
- Yellow 5
- Yellow 6
[Source]
As always I’ve highlighted the ingredients that we need to take a closer look at.
Non-Vegan Ingredients
Gelatin
This ingredient is made from animal bones and is not a vegan-friendly ingredient.
Questionable Ingredients
Sugar
Sugar is a tricky ingredient for vegans, because there is an instance where sugar could be classified as non-vegan. Two of the most common sugar types are beet sugar and cane sugar, with the latter being more so used in the candy and sweets.
Beet sugar and raw cane sugar is always vegan, but cane sugar is often refined to before it’s used in products and in this refining process the sugar is also bleached. A common method is to use bone char from dead cows and exploiting animals in the production process would make the sugar non-vegan.
Natural Flavors
Natural flavor is an umbrella term, meaning that it often consists of several ingredients and the source of these ingredients are never disclosed on the ingredients label.
This means that the ingredients could be animal-sourced or plant-sourced and vegans needs to be careful when it comes to natural flavors.
Artificial Colors
The next controversial ingredient on the list is artificial colors. This is a highly discussed ingredient within the vegan community and I will try and explain why as good as I can. The biggest issue here is the animal testing that is still being conducted. There are other testing methods such as computer simulations do a great job instead.
It’s also important to know that there are several health issues connected to some of the colors such as hyperactivity in children. Ethical vegans tends to stay away from artificial colors, but some dietary vegans make a choice to consume them. I personally don’t consume them because of the health issues.
Mono- And Diglycerides
This ingredient can be sourced from both plants and animals.
Soy & Corn
Soy and corn are two of the most common GMO crops in the US and many vegans will try and stay away from these. The reason for this is the high amount of herbicide that is needed in order for the crop to grow. This can pollute the surrounding ecosystem and damage it severely.
Conclusion
It’s hard to know if Laffy Taffy Minis and Ropes are vegan-friendly because of the questionable ingredients that could be sourced from animals. They also contain artificial colors, which many vegans stay away from because of the animal testing.
Thanks for reading, take care!
