Is E631 Flavor-Enhancer Vegan? E631 Products List

Is E631 Flavor-Enhancer Vegan

Ever wondered why you can’t stop munching on Lays chips or other such potato crisps? Or, why are instant noodles a big hit among people of all age groups? All these snacks and many more in the same category thrive on flavor enhancers. These are food additives seemingly approved by the higher authorities to be added to food items with the intent to make them taste better and, of course, sell higher.

Now, such things don’t really concern us as long as we’re happy snacking on them however, they become a significant matter of consideration when we introduce changes in our diet. For instance, when we turn vegan, even such flavor-enhancing agents suddenly come into the spotlight.

For, we want to be 100% sure that we don’t consume anything (big/small) even remotely associated with animal-cruelty. One such food additive over which many eyebrows have been raised regarding its vegan status is the E631 flavor enhancer.

What is E631?

E631, also commonly known as disodium inosinate, is a food additive that helps improve the taste of several packaged foods. A few examples include instant noodles and potato chips – foods which are absolutely irresistible. In other words, E631 means good taste.

The agent has another use as well, besides being added as a flavor-enhancer. Disodium inosinate has been known to help lower the amount of salt required in a food. It’s therefore often used in potato chips and other foods that demand salt reduction in light of increasing health issues. So, is E631 vegan?

While some brands may use the agent produced from meat of animals and fish, some others may use the fermented version. And it gets worse because there really is no way to find out the source of flavor enhancer 631 because foods containing the additive wouldn’t generally specify its exact source on their ingredients label except for tapioca starch.

This creates a problem for vegans though, therefore, the best practice would be to avoid the E631 food code completely, in case you aren’t sure which one isn’t vegan.

When you turn vegan, it might be difficult to find whether your daily use products are vegan or not. Some such products include Vaseline, soda, tortillas, and many more which you might be worrying of being vegan or not. For such worries, I have formed a vegan FAQs section where I have and will further solve all your queries!

What is E631 Flavor Enhancer Made of?

E631 or sodium inosinate is generally made from meat including chicken, fish or red meat. Although it is commonly a non-vegetarian derivative, it can also be made in a vegan-friendly manner from bacterial fermentation of sugars. When made from tapioca starch, the additive contains no animal products whatsoever.

However, it is safe to say that E631 is commercially derived from animals. Therefore any food item that includes E631 as an ingredient cannot be unanimously considered vegan-friendly or even halal for that matter.

E631 Products List

e631 flavour enhancer made from

Here’s a glimpse into the wide range of products where E631 food code is accepted as a food additive.

  • Lays potato chips (including Lays Stax)
  • Cadbury chocolate
  • Maggi instant noodles
  • Kurkure crisps
  • Parle biscuits

The best vegan alternative to Lays Stax is Pringles, for Cadbury chocolate is vegan chocolate, for Maggie Noddles are vegan homemade noodles and many more. Every non-vegan product has its vegan alternative. Besides the above, a number of other edible products, such as toffees, and toiletries like shaving cream contain a wide range of E number agents.

These can be quite misleading especially because not many people are aware of what these E-numbered products stand for. As such, it’s fairly easy to overlook them at the back of your favourite food product, even though they’re clearly listed out there.

You can instead try vegan chips like veggie straw and its other vegan friendly flavors, biscuits, vegan chocolates and all the vegan recipes and snacks for munching all the time!

However, if you’re a vegan, or have recently turned one, it might be difficult for you to analyze whether your favorite snack is vegan or not. Make sure you get a complete list of the source ingredients before purchasing anything edible, to be doubly sure.

Other Points to Note About E631

There are a couple of other concerns too which may be worth noting when it comes to the consumption of products containing this flavour-enhancing agent.

  • Disodium Inosinate is generally not safe to use in products intended for babies below the age of 12 weeks. You may ideally not find them in baby foods; however, it may always be safer to check the pack before buying.
  • Disodium Inosinate may have certain side effects too on certain individuals with specific conditions. For instance, people with asthma are recommended to not consume disodium inosinate. Besides,they should also be avoided in case you’re suffering from gout. That said, the amount of concentration of disodium inosinate used in food is generally very low and is less likely to have side effects.

Conclusion

E631 has been and is still widely used to enhance the flavor of multiple foods since long. We’ve shared a small E631 products list for context. It’s only now that questions over its vegan status have emerged. But at the end of the day, it’s entirely a personal choice to continue consuming products containing E631 or switch to vegan alternatives.

Similar Posts

12 Comments

  1. FLAVOR ENHANCER are not used in veg or green mark poducts. Kabi inke bina bi ye product bnane chahiye tabi pata chale ga ke veg product kitne taste hote hai aur inh non veg flavor enhancer ki koi jarurat nahi. Iska virod kionahi hota ke veg product me ye enhanc kio dale jate hai. Is par ban hona caheaye Aur in companies par karvahi ho.

  2. So to be sure can you please be specific about the Source of E631 used in Lays chips and Cadbury’s chocolates ???

    1. Manufacturer will be able to get the information from their supplier. Logically animal source, since they are cheaply and quickly available.

  3. Why not government make a law to publish if it is from animal or vegetables source must change code for animal product or vegan

  4. I’m disappointed to learn that Lays and Cadbury products have E631 as taste enhancer .its bcoz both these items are my favourite but I’m vegan.

  5. If E361 is derived from animals like pig, then how come is widely sold in the market as a veg product? And how come concerned authorities FSSAI is not vocal about it? It is high time FSSAI should shed some light on this ingredient and why they have allowed this item in Indian market?

  6. Yes there should be a law and different product code for source of e631

    In future as farm grown proteins are coming we need to know if the seed was meat or vegiie

  7. Thank you so much for this information! Please keep posting information when you find out that most commonly used products have some kind of meat-related products. I have found your blog super helpful ..

    Thank you soo soo much!

  8. Please tell me, what is your source for the info. Are all lays chips made with e631? They dont put it on the label. How do I know this is true for the chips I have?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *