If you want to skip having to go to the kitchen to make yourself a sandwich, then you might want to know whether Smucker’s Uncrustables are vegan-friendly. They are un-crusted sandwich-lets filled with fun varieties of flavors including:
- Chocolate Flavored Hazelnut
- Peanut Butter
- Peanut Butter & Grape Jelly
- Peanut Butter & Strawberry
- Peanut Butter & Honey
But are these little sandwiches for your vegan-friendly midday snack? Continue reading to find out.
Table of Contents
Is Smuckers Uncrustables Vegan-Friendly?
The answer is: No
Unfortunately, Uncrustables have ingredients that are normally animal produced which makes the product not suitable for vegans. All the flavors of the sandwich cookies contain Distilled Mono and Diglycerides which are usually made from animal fat.
What are Uncrushables Made Of?
The ingredients for Uncrustables Peanut Butter and Honey Sandwich are: Bread: Unbleached Whole Wheat Flour, Enriched Unbleached Flour (Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, Sugar, Yeast, Contains 2% or Less of: Wheat Gluten, Soybean Oil, Salt, Dough Conditioners (Distilled Mono and Diglycerides, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, DATEM, Enzymes [with Wheat Starch, Ascorbic Acid, Calcium Peroxide]).
Peanut Butter: Peanuts, Sugar, Contains 2% or Less of: Molasses, Fully Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils (Rapeseed and Soybean), Mono and Diglycerides, Salt.
Honey Spread: Sugar, Water, Honey, Pectin, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate (Preservative), Caramel Color, Calcium Chloride, Natural Flavor.
Why Is Uncrustables Not Vegan?
The above ingredients listed are for the Peanut Butter and Honey flavor of Unscrutables. They contain honey which is made from a combination of plant nectar and enzymes from bees’ bodies. It is an animal by-product and so, should not be eaten by vegans.
The Chocolate Flavored Hazelnut Spread Flavor contains milk and whey.
Milk is an animal product that is largely taken from cows. Whey is the liquid substance that remains after milk is processed into cheese. Both are animal by-products, so they are unsuitable for vegans.
The chocolate variety also contains palm oil. Palm oil is vegan-friendly in that it does not contain animal sources, however, its mass production in tropical countries has resulted in deforestation in the natural habitats for animals. This removes them from their home in order to make way for palm plants.
Although honey is found in only found in the Peanut Butter and Honey variety, and milk and whey are included in the Chocolate variety, Smuckers, the company that owns Unscrutables, has stated in the FAQ’s that they don’t consider any of their Uncrustables to be vegan.
This may be because of the Distilled Mono and Diglycerides found in all of the varieties. While they can be made from plants, they are often made from animal fats. It is best for strict vegans to avoid snacks containing this ingredient. Natural Flavors can also be derived from animal-based ingredients. Smucker’s the company behind Uncushables has not stated which of the sources the natural flavors are derived from
Final Thoughts
Smucker’s Uncrustables are not vegan-friendly. Two of the flavors have listed animal sources while all of the flavors are deemed by the company to not be vegan. You might have to say goodbye to this convenient little snack pack in favor of another.
For more information on Uncrushables: https://www.smuckersuncrustables.com/