States that a permanent exemption from labeling is given to "4(a) fish gelatine used as a carrier for vitamin or carotenoid preparations…" (d) any substance other than water which is used as a solvent or carrier for an additive and is used in an amount that is no more than that which is strictly necessary for that purpose.Ī Commission Directive published in the Official Journal of the European Union (27 November 2007) and accessed at According to page 14 of the UK Food Labelling Regulations 1996, clause 17, titled "Ingredients which need not be named": To the best of our understanding, Coca-Cola® does not need to label the gelatin as an ingredient in these beverages. These products are Lilt, Lilt Zero, Kia-Ora Orange Squash, Kia-Ora Orange Squash No Added Sugar and Schweppes Orange Squash. However, vegans and vegetarians should note that a few of our drinks contain small traces of fish gelatine, which is used as a stabiliser for the beta-carotene colour. None of the Coca Cola and Schweppes brands contains milk, eggs or any products derived from mammals. To quote from the Coca-Cola® UK website : The VRG learned from the Vegan Society of the UK that Coca-Cola® UK is an example of one of a few companies that uses gelatin-stabilized beta-carotene in several of its beverages. (Other antioxidants added to a juice/drink perform this function for beta-carotene once it is dissolved in solution.) Without a carrier, beta-carotene would not provide the desired beverage color in a dissolved form. A carrier helps prevent beta-carotene's breakdown. We also learned that beta-carotene is a sensitive substance that decomposes quickly and loses its color-fastness easily. She referred to a major soft drink in which unencapsulated beta-carotene formed such an oily ring until it was reformulated with something suitable to carry it. Without a carrier, beta-carotene would likely form an oily ring at the surface of a fruit juice or soft drink. The food technologist explained to us that because beta-carotene is insoluble in water, it needs a carrier in the form of an encapsulation to keep it dissolved in a water-based juice/drink. (Beta-carotene in margarine is easily stabilized by vegetable oils similar or identical to the vegetable oil(s) that compose the margarine itself because beta-carotene is fat-soluble.) In fact, as a food technologist at a major company which manufactures many beta-carotene products explained to The VRG, gelatin (or some other suitable carrier), is more likely to be used in water-based products to carry the beta-carotene rather than in oil-based products such as margarine. Wegman's® stated that they use a vegetable oil-stabilized beta-carotene.įurther research revealed that gelatin stabilization of beta-carotene may also occur in fruit juices/drinks and soft drinks. Wegman's® also told us that their brand margarine, although it contains beta-carotene, does not contain gelatin. Company representatives for both companies told us that they used beta-carotene in their products, but it is not stabilized (or "carried") by gelatin. In November 2011, we called Land O'Lakes® and Smart Balance®, manufacturers of several margarine products. The beta-carotene gives a yellowish color to the margarine which would otherwise be white. It is, however, common in margarine today. While looking into this issue, The VRG discovered that beta-carotene is used only rarely to color butter these days. Pig and cattle are the most common sources fish gelatin is also commercially available. Gelatin is derived from collagen found in animals' skins and bones. It is known as a "provitamin" because beta-carotene is cleaved into vitamin A in the body. In October 2011, The VRG received an email with this question: "I was…wondering if the color added to butter is vegetarian, because I have heard that beta-carotene is added to it and that gelatin is often used as a stabilizer in beta-carotene.”īeta-carotene is a highly pigmented (red, orange, or yellow) substance known as a carotenoid which is commonly found in vegetables and fruits.
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