For most foods, it is supposedly obvious whether they are vegetarian or even vegan. But whether we like it or not, there are also some products for which it is not so clear. Manufacturers often use additives of animal origin to improve their products in terms of taste, consistency or durability. We would not have thought of these 13 products as having animal ingredients.
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We now have to be strong: Because our beloved chips can contain milk components as well as animal ingredients such as poultry or fish. The problem with this is that they are usually not on the list of ingredients. If a product is only used as a flavoring agent, the manufacturer is not obliged to list this product on the list of ingredients. If you want to be safe, you can check this list from PETA ZWEI to see if your favorite chips are affected.
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Pesto also often contains an animal ingredient. Parmesan can be responsible for this. Because some cheeses contain so-called rennet. Lab is made from veal stomach and ensures that milk curdles and cheese can form. The mixture of enzymes from the stomach of young cows is not necessarily present in every cheese, but in about a third. If you really want to be sure, you should contact the manufacturer directly, as it is usually not shown on the list of ingredients.
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Vegetarians and vegans should already know that animal gelatin is contained in many fruit gums. But what is far less known is that lice are also often found in fruit gums. Sounds disgusting, but unfortunately it is. Because the red dye carmine can be obtained from ground lice, which can give red fruit gums their strong color. You can find real carmine on the ingredient list under "E120". Fortunately, carmine is often also made synthetically today. Synthetic carmine is called "E124".
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The same applies to red noodles. Because they too are often colored with carmine. You can also find out here simply by looking for "E120" on the list of ingredients.
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Getty Images / Юлия Чернышенко
Of course, we all know that eggs or milk are contained in most baked goods. What most people don't know is that the additive L-cysteine is often used to prepare flour for processing. This amino acid is made from pig bristles and bird feathers. If you get a little sick with this idea, you can look for the abbreviation "E920" in the future, because it stands for the unsightly ingredient.
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Of course, yogurt made from cow's milk is not vegan. But isn't it vegetarian either? Unfortunately, yes, because sweetened fruit yogurt contains gelatin quite often, which is known to be produced from animal connective tissue, especially pigs and cattle. But animal gelatin is often not only found in yoghurt …
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The same applies to chewing candy and chewing gum. They also often contain animal gelatin, which is partly responsible for their rubbery consistency and which also makes the products more durable.
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Unfortunately, the list of products with gelatin continues. Because cereals sometimes also contain animal connective tissue. Gelatin is often used here for the sugary coating of the crispy flakes. If you don't want to consume gelatin, you should also take a closer look at the list of ingredients for your cereals.
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And gelatin is also often used in the production of wine to remove cloudy substances from the drink. If this is not the case, you will usually see a symbol or label directly on the label that this wine is purely vegan. If there is no label on the bottle, you can also ask the manufacturer.
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Did you also think miso soup was vegetarian? The basic ingredient in this soup is miso, a vegetable paste made from soybeans. But most of the recipes also contain "Dashi", fish broth. If you do not want to eat any fish ingredients, you should in future simply ask in the restaurant or search for "Dashi" on the list of ingredients.
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Many like to eat the slightly orange sauce as a dip with all kinds of dishes. But did you know that most cocktail sauces contain anchovies? You can actually find the small silver fish very often as an ingredient on the ingredient list of cocktail sauces.
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Bananas are often sprayed with a chitosan pesticide. This substance is obtained from the tanks of insects and shrimps and is said to let the bananas ripen a little more slowly so that they are not overripe even after being transported. Only with organic bananas can you really be sure that the bananas have not been treated with chitosan.
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Even if most people think that beer is basically vegan, that's not true. Because some beer manufacturers, especially abroad, fish bubble is used to clarify the beer. However, because there are mostly no fish particles in the drink itself, the fish bubble does not have to be mentioned on the list of ingredients.
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Getty Images / Roman Stavila
Don't worry, we are sometimes quite shocked by the food that contains animal ingredients. For this we show you delicious sweets that are completely vegan in any case.
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Getty Images / Vaaseenaa