Are you interested in finding out if Altoids are vegan-friendly?
Altoids are a brand of mints and were created in 1780 by Smith & Company and were marketed to relieve stomach discomfort. This brand has grown to include sugar-free mints in small portable tins. Altoids has various flavors such as:
- Arctic Peppermint
- Arctic Strawberry
- Arctic Wintergreen
- Cinnamon Smalls
- Peppermint Smalls
- Wintergreen Smalls
- Altoids Cinnamon
- Altoids Peppermint
- Altoids Spearmint
- Altoids Wintergreen
With all these natural flavors, you are probably wondering if Altoids are vegan-friendly or not. Continue reading to find out.
Table of Contents
Are Altoids Mints Vegan-Friendly?
The answer is: No
Altoids are not vegan-friendly because they contain ingredients that are animal byproducts. These are sugar and gelatin.
What Are Altoids Made Of?
Ingredients
Altoid Mints are made from sugar, gum arabic, natural flavors (including oil of peppermint), gelatin.
Why Are Altoids Not Vegan-Friendly?
A product is vegan-friendly if it does not contain any ingredients derived from animals or involve unethical and mistreatment of animals. Altoids contain sugar and gelatin which are animal byproducts. Sugar can be from two sources: sugar beets and sugarcane.
Sugar from sugar beets is always vegan however sugar from sugarcanes can be a bit more complex. Sugarcane stalks are crushed to allow the juice to be separated from the pulp. The juice is heated so that they crystallize. It is then filtered using bone char.
Bone char is made by heating animal bones, usually cow bones, at extremely high temperatures until it reduces to carbon. The sugar is then processed using the bone char. Although the sugar does not technically contain any bone char particles after purification, the fact that it comes into contact with the substance makes it non-vegan.
Gelatin is made by boiling animal skin, tendons, ligaments and bones with water. It is a non-vegan ingredient.
Final Thoughts
Altoids mints have been around for many generations and have since grown to be an international brand sold in many countries and in various different flavors. However, Altoids are not vegan-friendly because of the sugar and gelatin contained in the ingredients. Although it is not specified if the sugar found in Altoids products is vegan or not-vegan, we may have to assume that it is non-vegan just to be safe.
The gelatin contained in the products makes the products not be vegan-friendly. On the positive side, Altoids are famous for their tin packaging which is recyclable and easily repurposed. This packaging is environmentally friendly and sustainable.
For more information on Altoids, please visit https://productcentral.mars.com/altoids and www.mars.com.