Is Dr Pepper Vegan?
Dr Pepper is a well-known carbonated soft drink with roots dating back to the 1880s. The soda company boasts a variety of 23 flavors of Dr. Pepper. With about 23 flavors combined in one, it’s natural to wonder if Dr. Pepper’s ingredients are derived from animals.
When you’ve been a vegan for any period, you’re probably aware that animal products can be found in the most unusual of places. Checking labels becomes a lifestyle for those who are devoted to the vegan way of life, even if it is well worth it.
Below, we’ll explain why each of these ingredients is debatable among vegans, as well as which Dr Pepper flavors contain them. We’ll also go over the ingredients for each Dr Pepper flavor one by one and see if the soda is vegan!!
Dr Pepper – Brand Overview
The elder brand of the two flagship brands, Dr Pepper, was invented in Waco, Texas, at Morrison’s Old Corner Drug Store. Charles C. Alderton, a young pharmacist who worked for Morrison’s at the time, experimented with his own soft drink in 1885. He combined phosphorescent water, fruit juice, sugar, and other components to create a new soft drink unlike any that had previously been tasted.
Dr Pepper was first sold on a national scale in the United States in 1904, and it is now available in Europe, Asia, North and South America. Dr Pepper is sold as an imported good in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Diet Dr Pepper and, beginning in the 2000s, a line of additional flavors are among the variants.
However, some ingredients in the original Dr Pepper are causing concern among vegans. Natural flavors, for example, are regarded as a gray area ingredient in the vegan community.
In addition, artificial coloring agents are used in the flavoring of other foods. Despite the fact that these colorants do not contain animal derivatives, they have been tested on animals and cannot be considered ethical or cruelty-free. But it’s unlikely for both the ingredients to be non-vegan for a can of soda.
Dr Pepper Ingredients
Each of the four ingredients listed below is a source of contention among vegans. We will explain here which ingredients in Dr Pepper flavors are most controversial and why.
1. Natural Flavors
Almost all Dr Pepper flavors contain “natural flavors.” It’s a catch-all phrase for a variety of ingredients used as, well, natural flavors. This means that it can be made from either animals or plants.
But it’s not a big concern for vegans. It can be animal-based but natural flavors derived from animals are very rare. Likewise, for Dr Pepper too, the natural flavors are not a big concern.
2. Sugar
Dr. Pepper has one flavor that uses real sugar as a sweetener rather than corn syrup or aspartame. However, this detracts from the drink’s vegan credentials.
It’s no surprise that bone char from cattle is frequently used to cleanse white sugar and make it clearer. As a result, some vegans avoid areas where refined sugar is likely to be added. However, the difficulty in avoiding “bone char sugar” is that it is not indicated on it on the product.
Sugar extracted from sugar beet or coconuts is unlikely to have been processed with bone char. Bone char is primarily used to filter traditionally grown cane sugar, confectioner’s sugar, and brown sugar.
3. Red 40
Red 40 can be detected in Dr Pepper flavors such as “Cherry” and “Cherry Vanilla.” It’s a petroleum-based artificial food dye, not an animal dye.
However, it is still being tested on animals due to health concerns. And the practice is still going on and is not going away anytime soon. This causes many vegans to stop purchasing Red 40, which means that only some vegans would also avoid the Dr Pepper flavors “Cherry” and “Cherry Vanilla.”
Recommended: Is Red 40 Vegan, Cruelty-Free and Halal Dye?
4. Caramel Color
Caramel color is present in all Dr Pepper varieties and it’s most likely vegan in most cases. But we can’t tell for sure because we can’t read the label. So it’s possible it’s not vegan.
Caramel color is simply produced by melting sugar or carbohydrate and “caramelizing” or browning it. There are generally no issues because the sugar origin is clearly vegan.
White sugar, on the other hand, can be used to make caramel colors. In that case, it would not be strictly vegan.
Dr Pepper Flavors
1. Diet Dr Pepper
Diet Dr Pepper contains carbonated water, phosphoric acid, caramel color, caffeine, artificial and natural flavors, aspartame, and sodium benzoate.
Most of the ingredients in both regular Dr Pepper and Diet Dr Pepper are the same. Aspartame replaces high fructose corn syrup in the latter.
Aspartame is a popular artificial sweetener found in most diet sodas that have twice the sweet flavor of regular sugar or carbohydrate. It is a safe sugar substitute in foods and beverages, and it is vegan-friendly, just as you hoped.
2. Dr Pepper Cream Soda
Cream and Dr. Pepper Soda are usually regarded as a vegan. Carbonated water, HFCS, flavors, caramel color, caffeine, sodium benzoate, and phosphoric acid are the main ingredients. In this case, aspartame replaces HFCS in the diet soda.
You might be concerned about the components of High fructose corn syrup because most vegans believe it is unhealthy.
Also, it is likely that the caramel color and natural flavors were derived from animal products, but this is unlikely. However, it is derived from corn, so it contains no animal ingredients.
3. Dr Pepper Zero Sugar
Dr Pepper Zero Sugar is presented as an addition to the aspartame-only Diet Dr Pepper, instead of a replacement, because it uses a combination of aspartame and acesulfame potassium.
Dr Pepper Zero Sugar tastes far more authentic than Diet Dr Pepper. The consistency is thinner, and the sweetness has a flatness to it, with a faintly chemical flavor that would go unnoticed most of the time. It tastes nothing like regular Dr Pepper.
4. Caffeine Free Dr Pepper
Caffeine-Free Dr Pepper is also vegan. The ingredients are the same as in the regular drink, with the exception of caffeine, which is a given.
If you’re curious about the ingredients, they’re as follows: carbonated water, caramel color, HFCS, sodium benzoate, and phosphoric acid. It is likely that the caramel color and natural flavors were derived from animal products, but this is dubious.
In this case, sugar is extracted from other vegan components and caramelized to obtain the brown color.
5. Dr Pepper Cherry
Diet Dr Pepper Cherry is widely regarded as a vegan. However, because Red 40 is still tested on animals, some vegans might very well avoid Diet Dr Pepper Cherry as a result.
Also, Red 4 is derived from beetles and has similar red coloring to Red 3. It is also possible that the caramel color or natural flavors were derived from animal ingredients, but this is unlikely.
The Red 40 in this case is a dye derived from the petroleum industry, which makes it vegan-friendly.
6. Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper
Yes, both regular and diet Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper are vegan. Aside from the original formulation, it contains additional flavors such as cherry and vanilla, as implied by the name.
Other vegan-friendly ingredients include red food dye, malic and citric acids, and citric and malic acids. Malic and citric acids are organic acids that are industrially synthesized for use in foods and drinks.
Malic acid is derived from chemical synthesis, and citric acid is derived from yeast fermentation, confirming their vegan status yet again.
Also Read:
- Is Monster Energy Vegan?
- Is Red Bull Vegan? Is Red Bull Cruelty Free?
- Is Gatorade Vegan-Friendly and Gluten-Free?
Conclusion
The primary issue here is whether Dr. Pepper is suitable for vegans, and the answer is yes. However, since it is free of animal ingredients and cruelty to animals, it does not necessitate its inclusion on a regular basis in your diet.
Yes, there are enigmatic natural and artificial flavors to contend with. However, artificial flavors are almost never non-vegan. Natural flavors can be non-vegan, but most common natural flavors are unlikely to be found in soda.
