Do you want to include Ritz Crackers in your vegan diet?
Ritz Crackers are a USA brand, and they were released during the Great Depression. The snack was named after the famous hotel: they were intended to offer people “a bite of the good life”.
In 2011 they were the “best-perceived snack brand” in America and are consumed in a variety of ways – both sweet and savory.
Some of the more popular flavors include:
- Ritz Peanut Butter Crackers
- Ritz Cheese Crackers
- Ritz Whole wheat Crackers
- Ritz Garlic Butter Crackers
- Ritz Bacon Crackers
Though widely popular and appreciated for their versatility, are Ritz Crackers safe for vegans to consume? Let’s find out…
Table of Contents
Are Ritz Crackers Vegan-Friendly?
The Answer is: No
The bad news is, although Ritz Crackers contain neither meat nor dairy, they cannot be consumed by vegans as they contain sugar (bone char) and natural flavors that are not guaranteed as purely plant-derived.
What are Ritz Crackers Made Of?
Nutrition Facts
Ingredients
Ritz Crackers are made from the following ingredients:
Unbleached Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate {vitamin B1}, Riboflavin {vitamin B2}, Folic Acid) , Vegetable Oil (Soybean And/or Canola And/or Palm And/or Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil) , Sugar , Salt , Leavening (Baking Soda And/or Calcium Phosphate) , High Fructose Corn Syrup , Soy Lecithin , Malted Barley Flour , Natural Flavor
Allergens
Soybeans and their derivates, Wheat and its derivates, Cereals containing gluten and their derivates.
Why are Ritz Crackers Not Vegans?
The sugar content and natural flavors in Ritz Crackers are not vegan-friendly:
White sugar: Is bleached with bone char, a filter made from cattle bones to change refined sugar from brown to white.
Natural flavors: Anything labelled ‘natural flavors’ without further explanation is not to be trusted as plant-derived, as animals may be harmed in the making of natural flavors.
Final Thoughs
Ritz Crackers do not contain animal derivatives, but they do contain ingredients that are not vegan-friendly.
Natural flavors and white sugar are known as non-vegan ingredients: natural flavor due to its ambiguity as to whether it is plant or animal-derived, and white sugar for the crucial use of bone char in its refining process. Thus, Ritz Crackers are not vegan, due to the above ingredients that are harmful to animals.
For more on Ritz Crackers, follow the link: RITZ Crackers Homepage | RitzCrackers.com