Are you curious to know if Doritos are vegan-friendly?
Doritos tortilla chips were created in the United States in 1964. The word “Dorito” comes from “Doradito”, which in Spanish means, “little fried and golden thing”. The chips are modeled after the Mexican totopo snack with leftover tortillas and a dry version of the popular Mexican food, chilaquiles.
DORITOS® isn’t just a chip. It’s fuel for disruption — our flavors ignite adventure and inspire action. With every crunch, we aim to redefine culture and support those who are boldly themselves. – Source
Doritos.com
Doritos are extremely popular and the product is advertised heavily during America’s annual Superbowl. Their tagline is, “For the Bold”.
Can you enjoy Doritos as a vegan? Read on…
Table of Contents
Is Doritos Vegan-Friendly?
The Answer is: No
Unfortunately, Doritos Chips are not suitable for a vegan diet as they contain milk, cheese, buttermilk, and whey.
Due to the cross-contamination risk, Doritos will never be declared or certified as Vegan friendly.
What Are Doritos Made of?
Doritos are made from the following ingredients:
Whole corn, vegetable oil (corn, soybean, and/or sunflower oil), salt, cheddar cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), maltodextrin, whey, monosodium glutamate, buttermilk solids, romano cheese (part skim cow’s milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), whey protein concentrate, onion powder, partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oil, cornflour, disodium phosphate, lactose, natural and artificial flavor, dextrose, tomato powder, spices, lactic acid, artificial color (including Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Red 40), citric acid, sugar, garlic powder, red and green bell pepper powder, sodium caseinate, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, nonfat milk solids, whey protein isolate, corn syrup solids.
This is How Doritos Are Made
Why Are Doritos Not Vegan-Friendly?
Besides animal-derived ingredients, all Doritos ingredients are non-vegan as they are:
- Harmful to the environment: Palm kernel oil plantations require large amounts of felling; harming natural habitat and contributing to deforestation.
- Not cruelty-free: The red and yellow colors in the chips (red 40 and yellow 6) go through animal testing.
Some sites list Spicy Sweet Chilli and Lightly Salted flavors as vegan, but this is not true as they all may have cross-contact with milk, which is listed as an allergin on the packaging.
To avoid inadvertently consuming dairy and non-cruelty-free ingredients, it is better to avoid even the products that claim to be vegan-safe or to carefully read the packaging before consuming.
Final Thoughts
From their Mexican tortilla chip origins, Doritos have become a popular snack, contributing not only to American pop culture, but enjoyed in the UK, South America, Europe, and Africa.
Unfortunately, because of the above ingredients, Doritos cannot be consumed by vegans.
Besides cross-contact with dairy, Doritos contain palm kernel oil and artificial colors that are counter-productive to veganism as they negatively affect animals and the environment.
On the bright side, in 2002, Doritos stopped using trans fat, and the brand has stated that they are committed to zero deforestation and to sourcing sustainable palm oil.
For more information on Doritos, head over to their official website.