Are you curious to know if Skittles are vegan-friendly?
Skittles are variety of bite-sized chewy candies with a colorful candy shell, SKITTLES® candies have been giving fans a delicious taste of the rainbow for decades. Today, over 200+ million Skittles candies are produced on a daily basis, with an average of 42 Skittles candies to a standard bag.
Skittles come in a variety of flavors and contain fruit juice. Some of the popular flavors include:
- Sour Skittles
- Skittles Original Bite-Size Candies
- Wild Berry Skittles
- Tropical Rainforest Skittles
- Skittles Orchards
As a vegan, you’re probably wondering if you can “taste the rainbow” with Skittles. Let’s see…
Table of Contents
Are Skittles Vegan?
The Answer is: NO
No. Unfortunately, Skittles are not suitable for vegans. This is because Skittles contain non-vegan ingredients like white sugar, palm kernel oil, artificial colors, and natural flavors.
What Are Skittles Candy Made Of?
Original Skittles Ingredients
Original Skittles are made from the following ingredients: sugar, corn syrup, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, citric acid, tapioca dextrin, modified corn starch, natural and artificial flavors, colors (with tantrazine), sodium citrate, carnauba wax
Why Are Skittles Not Vegan-Friendly?
Skittles do not list animal products in their ingredients, but the way they are made is not vegan.
- Bone char is used to bleach white sugar: Bone char is made from crushed cattle bones.
- Palm kernel oil is sourced un-ethically: Palm kernel oil is rejected by the vegan community for its unethical sourcing practices, felling large amounts of palm trees.
- Red Skittles contain carmine: Carmine, or E120, appears as “natural red” in the ingredients list, and is sourced from crushed and boiled bugs. Only the UK has publicly made it known that they have stopped using the ingredient.
- Natural flavors: Usually contain animal-derived ingredients.
- Artificial colors: Are tested on animals.
Final Thoughts
Skittles are notorious for their high levels of sugar, fat, and high calories. They are also not vegan-friendly.
Things are looking up though, because the owner of Skittles, Mars-Wrigley, is environmentally conscious, and the company has plans to have 100% recyclable, compostable or reusable packaging by 2025, starting with Skittles in early 2022.
To find out more on Skittles, head to the Mars-Wrigley website.