Animal Ingredients Apple juice is often not vegan

Not every apple juice is vegetarian or vegan

Again and again it is pointed out that certain foods are often not vegetarian or vegan. Apple juice also often contains animal components. This is what the consumer advocates point out.

Gelatin as a clarifying agent

Apple juice is one of the most popular fruit juices of Germans. Most consumers assume that the fruit drink is vegan. But that does not always apply. For manufacturers can use gelatine of animal origin as a clarifying agent in the production of juices. A consumer information about such a procedure is not mandatory, reports the consumer center Bavaria in a recent release.

Not every apple juice is vegan. Because in production, gelatine of animal origin can be used as a clarifying agent. (Image: mahey / fotolia.com)

Animal ingredients in apple juice production

"The gelatin binds unwanted turbid matter and is then removed from the juice again. This makes it a processing aid and does not have to be mentioned in the list of ingredients, "explains Susanne Moritz, nutrition expert at the Bavarian Consumer Center.

Processing aids can be left in the food in slight traces if this is unintentional, technically unavoidable and harmless.

The fact that pork and beef components can often be included in apple juice production was also demonstrated by a market check by consumer organization foodwatch last year.

The research showed that "for every third apple juice or nectar (7 out of 17) and every third apple spritzer (5 out of 14), clarification with animal gelatine can not be ruled out," it said at the time.

Make apple juice yourself

As the Bavarian consumer center writes, the current situation for vegans or consumers who want to renounce gelatin for religious reasons, unsatisfactory. She advises Susanne Moritz to ask directly from the manufacturer.

Another option is to make apple juice yourself.

For this, the fruits are peeled, gutted and diced. Put the pieces in a saucepan, pour over water and bring to a boil. Then you crush the mass, sweeten it and pour the liquid through a sieve: Done! (Ad)