In this post, we’ll explore and see if Sour Punch Straws are vegan. We’ll see what the general answer is, as well as what some areas of concern might be.
Let’s look at the answer to this below!
What is Sour Punch?
Sour Punch is a type of sour candy line-up. It comes in five different forms, those being the Straws, Bites, Ropes, Twists and Bits. For these five different forms of the Sour Punch candy, there are five different flavors as well.
Here’s the official Sour Punch website.
You can also see Are Sour Punch Bites Vegan?
Do Sour Punch Straws Have Gelatin?
Sour Punch Straws do not have gelatin in them. According to the ingredients, they are completely gelatin-free.
One of the biggest concerns when we looked at Are Sour Patch Kids Vegan, was the question of whether Sour Patch Kids had gelatin. The reason for this is that gelatin is most definitely a non-vegan food item.
Gelatin is said to be non-vegan by Peta. It is generally made from the bones of animals, especially cows and pigs. So, while it isn’t a blatant non-vegan item or animal product such as meat or dairy, for many vegans who are avoiding animal products completely, then gelatin would be a non-vegan item. So, anything with gelatin would be a non-vegan food.
We’ll dive into the Sour Punch Straws ingredients next.
Are Sour Patch Kids Vegan Video
Sour Punch Straws Ingredients
What are Sour Punch Straws made of? Here is the ingredients list for Sour Punch Straws as follows:
- CORN SYRUP
- HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP
- WHEAT FLOUR
- SUGAR
- CITRIC ACID
- MALIC ACID
- TARTARIC ACID
- GLYCERYL MONOSTEARATE
- GLYCERIN
- ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR
- COLOR ADDED BLUE 1
Gelatin is not listed as an ingredient. Just like the American version of Sour Patch Kids, the gelling agent in Sour Punch Straws is not gelatin, instead, it is corn syrup.
See: Sour Punch Straws Ingredients
Are Sour Punch Straws Vegan?
This is a slightly difficult question to answer, as it was with the Sour Patch Kids. We do know that Sour Punch Straws do not have gelatin, which is the number one concern for vegans with this type of product. But are there other ingredients that might make it non-vegan?
Well, the issue is with sugar. Some sugar, especially sugar made in the U.S. will be made with bone char. Bone char is made by heating the bones of cows to high temperatures.
If sugar is made from beets, then bone char is not used in the process. But, if sugar is made from cane sugar, then bone char is used in the whitening process. Unless activated charcoal or another means is used instead.
It really depends on the company that makes the sugar as to which way they make the sugar, and if bone char is used or not. For candy companies who purchase sugar from different suppliers, the creation process of the sugar might be unknown, as is probably the case with Sour Punch Straws.
The good thing is that almost all sugar in the U.K., as well as most sugar in the U.S., is now made without bone char, and is vegan. (See Why Most Sugar is Now Vegan (Except for This))
The next issue that might make Sour Punch Straws not vegan, even though they don’t have gelatin, is the use of artificial colors or flavors. Artificial colors and flavors are not animal products in themselves. They are usually created synthetically using chemicals.
But, a lot of vegans have problems with artificial colors and flavors because they are tested on animals. Since they are synthetically produced, they are required to be tested for safety. Unfortunately, a lot of these tests are done on animals.
Generally, rats are tested the most, but so are rabbit, dogs and other animals. So, depending on how strict of a vegan you are, you may have an issue with artificial colors or flavors being non-vegan. This was also a similar issue with Sour Patch Kids which also contain artificial colors and flavors.
So, even though Sour Punch Straws don’t have gelatin, all of these other issues may make Sour Punch Straws non-vegan.
Do Sour Power Straws Have Gelatin?
Another similar item to Sour Punch Straws are the Sour Power Straws. They also do not have gelatin in them. But, just like Sour Punch Straws, they will have some of the same issues with sugar and artificial colors.
Are Sour Punch Straws Halal?
Sour Punch Straws are halal. They do not contain any pork, gelatin or animal-derived products.
Are Sour Punch Straws Gluten Free?
Unfortunately, Sour Punch Straws are not gluten-free. They contain wheat flour as one of the ingredients, meaning they have gluten.
Are Sour Punch Rainbow Straws Vegan?
Sour Punch Rainbow straws do not contain any gelatin and for the most part, would be considered vegan. But just as with regular Sour Punch Straws, there are some ingredients of concern.
This includes glycerin, sugar, and artificial colors and flavors. Some of these may not be vegan, depending on how the ingredients were manufactured and produced.
Vegan Candy
If you are absolutely in need of some vegan candy besides Sour Punch Straws, or you are looking for some for your kids and you are a stricter vegan, then you can consider some of these alternatives.
- Airheads
- Dots
- Pixy Stix
- Sweet Tarts
- Jolly Ranchers
- Dark Chocolate – Cacao content of 50% or more. The higher the better. Avoid milk chocolate.
- Swedish Fish – They don’t use gelatin, only animal-free ingredients like cornstarch.
- Twizzlers – They use cornstarch instead of gelatin in Twizzlers.
- Skittles – They originally had gelatin but have been switched out for a plant-based version.
- Nerds – They are pretty much just hardened sugar.
- Lollipops
- Smarties
- JujuBes
- Mary Janes
Are Sour Punch Straws Bad for You?
Even if we did consider Sour Punch Straws to be vegan friendly, does that mean they are still good for us? Well, if they are vegan candy, they still fall under the category of “Vegan Junk food” and do not follow a WFPBD or Whole Food diet.
The best thing for our health is to eat a whole food plant-based diet. This means choosing plant-based items but making sure they are in their whole forms. That means, not being broken down into parts or processed into new foods.
Since Sour Punch Straws and pretty much all candies are processed, these don’t have great health benefits for us. Also, Sour Punch Straws have an extra layer of sugar coating on the outside, which also makes them bad for the teeth.
Does Sour Punch Straws Have Pork?
Sour Punch Straws do not have any pork or animal-derived products in them. They are pork-free.
Vegan Candy
You can see our other articles on vegan candy. Check to see if your favorite ones are vegan as well.
Final Thoughts
So, are Sour Punch Straws Vegan? It looks like it might have to do with how strict you are as a vegan. They do not have gelatin, the main non-vegan ingredient to avoid. But, they do have other ingredients which might be something that a vegan is wishing to avoid.
Lance has been passionate about the plant-based diet and we have been following a whole food plant-based diet for over 5 years. We focus on health, natural healing, weight management, animal rights, and the health of the planet and environment by focusing on whole plant-based foods and sustainable practices.
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