A staple of evenings out with family and friends, this product is being closely watched by vegans. Find out more below.
A sometimes misleading composition
Sausages, soft drinks and aperitif cookies are the classics of a successful aperitif! However, among France’s favorite ingredients lurks a product that vegans need to keep a close eye on.
Their composition must be scrupulously examined, as the presence of products of animal origin is sometimes concealed. Flavoured » potato chips such as barbecue, mustard or chicken often contain artificial flavours obtained from flavour enhancers of animal origin.
However, some brands claim that their products are suitable for vegetarians. For vegans and vegetarians, certain products are not recommended because they use flavors of animal origin.
What do package labels say?
On the Brets website, the compositions are given without taboos. If you look at the ingredients of Braised Chicken Taste potato chips, you’ll see that these potato chips are made from powdered chicken meat.
However, this process is not limited to products with meaty flavors. In addition to the presence of traces of meat, most packets of potato chips also claim to contain traces of milk.
Milk is an essential ingredient in potato potato chips, and is found in the majority of packets where brands claim the presence of natural flavoring, often made from milk.
The solution: plain or organic potato chips
The element that leads vegans and vegetarians not to eat potato chips is the so-called natural flavours (milk-based) or flavours obtained from meat.
So, if you follow one of these lifestyles and want to treat yourself to a few crunchy potato chips, plain potato chips are the way to go. However, it is advisable to pay close attention to the composition of the chips, which may contain traces of animal products.
Some companies offer organic products, but the compositions often include milk in these categories too.
To conclude
If we had to summarize the situation, it would be interesting to say that potato chips are often vegetarian, but only very rarely vegan or vegetarian. The presence of emulsifiers such as E471 may also conceal animal fats.
Most potato chips contain traces of milk, while « flavored » potato chips contain elements of animal origin to obtain the flavors.