Veganuary has become hugely popular over recent years, with growing numbers of people picking the first month of the year to try out a meat-free lifestyle.
While it's easier than ever these days to shop for non-vegan products, it can prove a real learning curve for new vegans to discover what is entirely free from animal derivatives and they have to be on the alert to know what to watch out for.
Now, adding even more food for thought is a range of products which have thrown up quite a few surprises.
In response to a rise in interest in plant-based products on its site, online company LoveCrafts.com carried out some research into surprising vegan and non-vegan products: in other words food and items most commonly mistaken as animal-free as well as some products which are vegan although you might never have guessed it.
See if you could have guessed which is which from its list.
Remember the best advice is, however, to always check the ingredients on the label.
Top five most surprising non-vegan products
Jeans
While denim itself is vegan friendly, the patch on the back of a pair can sometimes be made from real leather.
Tattoos
Some common tattoo inks still use ingredients derived from animals such as bone char or glycerine.
Stencil paper can also be made from lanolin, which is derived from sheep’s wool.
Paintballs
While vegan-friendly paint is available, the capsule that contains the paint is commonly made using gelatine.
Figs
Yes really. It seems some consider figs non-vegan due to the fact when female pollinator wasps lay their eggs inside a fig flower, the process kills the wasp and the fig digests it.
Beer and wine
While some of the bigger brands have now switched to vegan-friendly production, a lot of beer and wine is still produced using animal products such as isinglass - fish bladders.
Major producers including Guinness, Budweiser and Heineken have now begun switching to vegan-friendly methods of production and Super Natural is among the Newcastle restaurants selling vegan big brand alcohol.
Top five most surprising vegan products
Chicken-flavour instant noodles
Certain packs of chicken or beef-flavour noodles don’t contain any meat products and are vegan-friendly - just check the label.
Hot chocolate
Most chocolate contains dairy ingredients but most cacao powder can be enjoyed dairy-free by mixing it with non-dairy milks.
Yarn
While some yarn is made from animal fibres, such as sheep’s wool, alpaca and mohair , there are plenty of plant-based options around, including cotton, bamboo and banana tree husks. LoveCrafts suggests the best plant-based available yarns here.
Smoky bacon crisps
Meat-flavour crisps such as smoky bacon and roast chicken often just contain flavourings which resemble meat and do not contain any animal products.
Cream crackers
It may sound like these crackers feature dairy products but they are actually vegan-friendly.
Fran Theobalds, senior buyer at LoveCrafts, said: “With veganism on the rise, we’ve seen an increase in makers searching for vegan-friendly craft materials.
"There’s a lot of genuine surprise there are so many plant-based yarns to choose from, and knitting isn’t just about wool! Veganuary is the perfect time for people to experiment with new materials, without giving up the things they enjoy.”
https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/vegan-surprises-can-you-guess-19628134
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