Are Lifesavers Vegan, Gluten-Free and Kosher?

Candies are loved by everyone, be it adults or kids. Some candies have been favorite to almost everyone like Twizzlers, Starburst, Life Savers and many more. Each candy is unique, so we wouldn’t want to leave any of them while turning vegan.

So, we, at VegansFirst, evaluated several candies for its vegan status like Sour Patch Kids, Airheads, Twizzlers and many more. And now, this article will extensively cover all the aspects of the Lifesaver candy and unravel the mystery of whether the candy is vegan or not.

Life Saver candies come in three major varieties, Mint, Hard candy, and Gummies. This American ring-shaped paper wrapped candies are loved most specifically for its mint and hard candy flavors.

What are Life Savers?

Wrigley is the candy company that produces Life Savers. When Lifesaver candy rolled out for the very first time, it was known as the “summer candy” as it could resist the heat more than what chocolate could. The uncanny resemblance to a life-saver tube is from where it got its name and fame.  

The Life Saver candy mainly comes in three different varieties as stated earlier, in which the Mint candy and the hard candy are made out of vegan-friendly ingredients making them vegan. Whereas, the gummies are considered non-vegan and this is because the main ingredient in them is gelatin. Gelatin is known to be a non-vegan ingredient as it is derived from animal-based sources which is well-described in ‘Is Starburst Vegan’ article.

So, The Life Saver gummies are not vegan and if you consider stearic acid to be non-vegan as well, then I would not recommend you to go for the hard mints flavors as they contain stearic acid in their ingredients. 

LifeSaver Mint Ingredient

Lifesavers Mints are generally placed in the vegan grey area. The reason behind this is the presence of stearic acid in the ingredients.

According to the Vegetarian Resource Group’s Guide to Food Ingredients, Stearic Acid is differentiated from an animal, vegetable, and synthetic source. And thus, there is a high chance that it may not be vegan-friendly. 

But much research and studies show that most of the stearic acid used in the food industry is derived from plant-based sources giving a high probability that lifesavers mint might be vegan.

Following are the debatable non-vegan ingredients used for lifesavers mint: 

• Sugar Corn Syrup 
• Artificial Flavor
• Stearic Acid

All these ingredients are the most common ones that you find in mint candies all over the globe.

Even though this sounds like a relief to many in the vegan world, it is stated that Wrigley once confirmed that the stearic acid that they use in the mints were derived from animal-based sources. The source of the stearic acid in the hard-mint Lifesavers is uncertain and is not confirmed by its sources. 

Are Lifesaver Mints Gluten Free?

Once the mints pass the vegan test, the next challenge would be to determine whether these mints are gluten-free?

Yes, The Lifesaver mints are gluten-free as it is based and produced on the ingredients that do not contain traces of whole wheat, flour, or any other gluten-based ingredients. 

The ingredients of the mints also do not have any sources from where there can be a possibility of cross-contamination of gluten-based products. So your Lifesaver mints are Gluten-free and you can have them for sure even if you are under gluten-restriction.

Are Lifesavers Hard Candies Vegan?

Hard candies are mainly made out of corn syrup, artificial colors, and sugar. All these three ingredients pass the vegan test as all of them are sourced from plants most of the time making LifeSaver hard candies also vegan. 

But, if the sugars that are used in the candies are sourced from animal-based sources like bone char, there is a possibility that they might not be vegan. Most of the companies that produce candies that have sugar in the ingredients generally source their sugar from plant-based sources. 

It is always best to verify the source of the ingredients mentioned on your food packets as most of the time it is never mentioned. But even with the question arising on the source of the sugar, Life Savers have not made any claims that they use sugar derived from animals as they did with the stearic acid. Therefore, Life Savers hard candies are entirely vegan. 

Are Lifesavers Kosher? 

Kosher-style foods have a lot of restrictions and that is the major reason why most of the foods don’t pass the Kosher test. To make sure that we do not rattle our heads on whether Life Savers are Kosher or not, Life Savers have mentioned it in their official website that, Life Saver candies are not Kosher because the ingredients like the variety of corn syrup that is being used in these candies do not pass the Kosher guidelines. 

Conclusion

It is evident that out of all the Life Saver candies, the hard candy is the only candy that is completely vegan. When it comes to the Lifesaver Mints, it all boils down to whether the candy is manufactured with Stearic acid derived from plant-based sources or not. If it is derived from animal-based resources, it is not going to be certified as a vegan product for sure. 

But we do have clarity on the Life Saver Gummies that they are not vegan mainly because of the Gelatin in the ingredients. To make sure that the candies that you consume are vegan, always try to trace the sources of the ingredients. You can check our scrutiny on other gummies like Dum Dums, Swedish Fish and Skittles for their vegan status.

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