What is a vegan diet, and how is a vegan different from vegetarians; there are many questions when you are about to change your eating habits, and at the moment when you want to start a new chapter of your life?

Vegans, in some general understanding, do not use any products of animal origin – the reasons why this is the case is because they have strong beliefs and eating is just one part of it. These are eggs, dairy, honey, leather, fur, silk, wool, cosmetics and soaps made from animal products.

There is also the question of what kind of choices of food you will make since you have certainly used to some tastes and certain food, for example, candies.

If you are one of those who are following a vegan diet, and you cannot resist your favorite childhood candy, the rainbow joy as some like to call it, you are probably thinking can you eat Skittles, are they vegan?

Of course, it is always hard to find out can you eat something, and in the case of the candy, finding the ingredients is very hard, and you can never be sure is that candy or product vegan, and there is a question of ethical production of a certain product, but this is another level of veganism.

Our advice is to always look at the bag and the list of the ingredients, and why not, educate you for some other choices, maybe even some healthier versions that could be found on the market for sure.

Also, there are so many receipts online that provide a simple way to make any type of food.

But this piece is dedicated to those who cannot resist the bag of candy – Skittles, and are vegan, so they are wondering can they eat them and not jeopardize the postulates of veganism.

Skittles – the rainbow candy for all

For so many people around the world, the Skittles are so beloved that they are compared to the chocolate, even if they do not have any chocolate in them. What we try to say is that this candy is favorite for so many, and it is not made of chocolate at all, and they belong more on the fruity side.

There are so many variations of them that have appeared during years, just like Tropical Skittles, Sour, Chocolate, Wild Berry, Mint, Sweet Heat Skittles, Smoothie Mix, and many others. There are often special offerings and special Skittles that are made over time.

They were produced the first time in England, in 1974 and they were imported in the USA, later on, they have been produced in both countries, USA and UK.

Nowadays, online, you can find a great amount of the receipts that include this candy (always think of the skittles and vodka, where you get the flavor and color from them), and we assure you that they are so wild and extraordinary that is amazing. Try them.

Many people like to eat them straight from the freezer, and it is said that the company that makes them produces over 200 million of them daily. It is an amazing amount, and the time did not take anything from their popularity, on the contrary.

Their colors are what makes them so distinct, and the company that makes them uses a lot of effort to make all colors of the rainbow – blue, orange, green, red, yellow). In the first years of production, they have been using for sure, some animal source for the production of their colors, but this now far from the truth.

Many recognize their potential as marketing moguls – Skittles have the best commercials, and are always online, talking and interacting with their fans using their Facebook page. It is witty and interesting, just like this candy -colorful and youthful and funny.

Online there can be found so many experiments with the Skittles, and one of them to submerge them in water, and the letter S (that is found on every Skittle, and the ones that do not have the letter S are expelled during the production) will reap of and float of them on the surface of the water, intact.

There is an urban legend that in one bag of Skittles, there is always the more yellow candy than some other rainbow color. Did you ever count them to see?

Ingredients

Now, our primary task is to tackle all elements found in this candy.

So, in the Skittles you can find, of course, sugar, and corn syrup, Palm oil, then Citric acid, and colors that are both natural and artificial (depending on the desired color that wants to be achieved, and in this sense, we must say that in the past mostly the production was based on animal sources, nowadays not so much, but there is a still the matter of toxic part of the artificial color).

When you look at the ingredients on the bag of Skittles, you can see that they do not have any carmine, or gelatin, or some other prominent animal-based elements. Still, some of its leftover components are problematic, as experts like to point out, particularly essential flavorings, palm oil, and synthetic colorings.

Natural flavors, in the case of the Skittles, are derived from plant origins, animal origins, or both, so except the description says that the flavorings are vegan, there is still a possibility that they may hold some part that belongs to the animal source.

Carmine that we have mentioned it so many times is found in numerous candies, and it is because it gives a great looking red color, but here it is not used. Just to remind you, it is the extract that comes from insects.

Also, one more ingredient that is found in the Skittles can be palm oil that is one of those elements that are mandatory in the food industry, and it does not matter that this ingredient is technically plant-based, its destructive environmental influence is not desirable for any vegan that is ethical.

It is said that the Skittles formula has changed over time so that many vegans are not sure if they can eat it or they should avoid it.

We must say that until the year 2009 the original formula had gelatin that is of course made out of animal source, but nowadays this is not the part of the Skittles. They have altered their formula so that they are more vegan-friendly.

Are Skittles Vegan?

So, as you could see Skittles are (mostly) vegan, in most of the part, but if you look at the list of ingredients there is a code E120, and that shows that in them there is carmine that comes from an animal source or insect. This is the first thing that would put them in a non-vegan when they have carmine of gelatin. Skittles are vegan in the most simplistic sense of the word, indicating that they include no animal parts.

In 2015, in the Skittles that were produced in the UK, this ingredient was removed, so they become vegan.

Other elements that are found in Skittles are not animal-based, but there is a production process that is not certain, and we cannot say 100 per cent they are vegan, but based on their ingredients, they are.

But the problem may occur if you have a problem in the health department, in its possibly poisonous colors, poisonous parts, or the fact that some say that the company that produces them is making tests on animals. The choice is yours, and in this sense, there are a lot of choices to make – so will you eat them, when you know that they are vegan, but not so healthy?

Are Skittles healthy?

As you could see, this rainbow candy is not healthy for you (the large amounts of sugar and corn syrup), and there are artificial colors that may raise a question or two in the health department.

As you know, artificial colors are used to make any food look more beautiful and appetizing, but there is a potential adverse influence on human wellness, and this is something that we must say, besides the fact that some colors found in Skittles are natural.

No one is going to say that you will die if you eat them, but there are many concerns that when you eat a lot of it, you will develop some disease, especially in children.

The good news comes for all Skittles lovers because the company that produces them, Mars, Inc., stated in 2016 that it would never use artificial colorings on their products, so the Skittles become safer, as they claim.

But, we must say one more thing; the research that was conducted showed that the bag of Skittles has half of the recommended amount of vitamin C for kids and some smaller amount for adults around the 25 per cent.

So, there is some good news, and we must speak now to all vegans (or wannabe vegans) that are reading this article, the solution to a proper Vegan diet is diversity, just like in any other dies. Healthy and varied Vegan diet includes fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, fruits, seeds, etc.

There is no expert that could tell you what to eat, you know it for yourself.

Summary

Many vegans prefer this lifestyle to encourage a more compassionate example and a better world, and this is the main reason why so many of them became vegan in the first place.

They know that they are not absolute and that they do not live in perfect conditions, but they understand that they have a duty to try their best not to sentence others for their own choices.

Being vegan, especially in some countries that this became a new thing, can have a hard time finding vegan products, both in markets and restaurants. But, maybe the most common way of “failing” is when you want to have candy, and you are not sure is that candy vegan or not.

With Skittles we cannot make a firm statement that they are vegan – maybe they are, maybe they are not. The ingredients that are found, and if you want to follow the instruction that the company that produces them stated, they are safe and vegan.

We know that once they were made out of the gelatin, and now this is not the part of their ingredients list, just like the carmine that is most commonly used in candy production for coloring.

PETA did not include this candy on their list of vegan candies, even if

Skittles don’t have animal components on the subsistence data label, and essential flavorings are incorporated in the table – it does not define where such flavors came from. So they can easily come from the animal source, but as we have said, the company claims that there are no animal products in them.

From a health point of view, we must say that Skittles are not such a perfect choice for all us, not just vegan, because there is a large amount of sugar in them, and of course, the artificial colors that are used for making the rainbow colors of Skittles.

Have in mind that even the large preponderance of Skittles products are completely well-made for vegans there are some exemptions – there are some special editions that are not vegan, but this is stated on the bags, so you will be informed. And we believe that this is the key to being vegan – to be informed.

If you are not sure, and you do not want to make a mistake in your vegan way of life, you can find online some of the real fruity and colorful candies that resemble skittles a lot.

Since the main thing that comes to your mind is their often fruity flavor, there are numerous receipts that teach you how to make a fruity candy at your home. If not, do not be lazy and take a look at the ingredients list.