Polo Fruits

I just want to start off by saying that I'm not 100% sure about this one. However, I have rummaged through the bottomless pit that is the internet and have tried to put the jigsaw pieces together. So, I was looking at Nestlé's vegetarian list updated Au

gust 2016 when I noticed something rather odd. Fruit Polos weren't included in the list of what is vegetarian. Curious... I then tried to find out if anyone else had found out why they're not vegetarian. There was no-one who had said why they're not vegetarian online. However, many had said that they are not vegetarian. So, I resorted to Googling what the ingredients were in Fruit Polos. The only thing that could possibly not be vegetarian was beta carotene. This was when I stumbled upon this 'Vegetarian Factsheet' where it listed E-Numbers that weren't vegetarian. One of them was E160a (ii), otherwise known as beta carotene. Although this made sense, I was rather confused, as I had consumed products with beta carotene before that said 'Suitable for Vegetarians' on them. So, I did some digging and discovered that beta carotene is, in itself, vegetarian, however, it can be stabilised with gelatine. Finally, all the puzzle pieces fitted. However, there is one hole in my theory. That is that Ocado lists the product as 'Suitable for Vegetarians'. They could, of course, have just assumed this and be wrong, likewise, I could be wrong. Anyway, just thought I'd share that with you! Bye!

Sources:

http://www.nestle.co.uk/asset-library/documents/nutritionhealthwellness/vegetarian%20list.pdf

http://www.shreeswaminarayan.org.uk/downloads/vegesheet.pdf

http://www.vrg.org/blog/2012/02/15/beta-carotene-in-us-beverages-not-stabilized-with-gelatin-unlike-some-products-in-the-uk/

White Sugar

I was quite surprised when I found this out. Sugar isn't naturally white so sugar manufacturers have to find a way of making it white. Some sugar manufacturers process the sugar using bone char, this is what gives the sugar its white colour. You may see the bone char referred to as natural carbon. Not all sugar manufacturers use this process but just be careful when buying your sugar. An example of a company which makes sugar using bone char is the famous American 'Domino' sugar company. An example of a company which has publicly stated that it does not use bone char is the 'Imperial Sugar Company'. Silver Spoon sugar which is available in the UK only has stated that all their sugar and sweetener products are suitable for vegetarians.

                                                                            

Skittles

Luckily to all those skittles fans skittles are vegetarian, but before 2009 they weren't, let me tell you why...

• Firstly, they used to contain E120 which is a dye, created by boiling beetles.

• Secondly, they used to contain shellac which is also made from beetles.

• Third, and finally, they used to contain gelatin, which as mentioned a number of times before is the stomach lining of a pig or cow.

Because of this many people weren't buying the skittles because many people are vegetarian. So, in 2009 they changed all these ingredients so that skittles were vegetarian and completely meat-free.

Marshmallows

Marshmallows
This may come as a shock to some of you and may not come a shock to others. Marshmallows are sweet, and who puts meat in a sweet treat? Although marshmallows are chewy, which gives people an excuse to put meat in. Most marshmallows aren't vegetarian and vegetarian ones are very rare. Although you can order them online from the following website:
http://www.freedommallows.com/
which is Vegetarian Society approved.

Jelly

Jelly
If you haven't already worked out why jelly is called jelly here's why. It's because it used to always have gelatin in which is an animal based product and therefore not vegetarian. Luckily, though, nowadays there are vegetarian jellies such as Hartley's Quickset sachets. 

Pesto

Pesto

As I have mentioned earlier on in my blog, sadly, some cheeses aren't vegetarian and since pesto is often used as a garnish for pasta it sometimes has cheeses in, such as Grana Padano and parmesan, which aren't vegetarian. Sadly, there aren't many vegetarian pestos, since most companies think it tastes better with non-vegetarian cheese in, although you can make your own following this recipe at http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/winter-pesto.html or buy zest vegan basil pesto which are both vegetarian.

Updated June 2015:
Recently the well know company Sacla have started creating their own vegetarian pesto. This is much easier to find than 'zest vegan pesto' and it is stocked in many supermarkets.

Quorn

Quorn

Quorn is a great vegetarian alternative to meat; it tastes like meat, looks like meat, and has the same protein that you miss from meat. You can buy Quorn as chicken style chunks, mince, veggie sausages and a lot more. Go to http://www.quorn.co.uk/range/ for more Quorn products.