Healthy lifestyles, proper nutrition and maintaining health are areas that should be a concern of all of us, regardless of our age, social status or something else – do not become one of those people who think about their diet and a lifestyle only when they are sick.

If you want, wherever you look, especially online, you can find educated people who are willing to share their knowledge with people who want to make a change in their lives and move one step closer to health and wellness. One of those choices can be your step toward veganism.

You do not have to give up your vegan diet just because you cannot give up your sugar rush and sweet tooth that is most problematic part of any diet, and even harder when you are vegan, and you just have to know about the ingredients that are in that candy and be informed as much as you can.

So, if you are on this diet, you would most certainly eat some fruity based candy since it is the most obvious choice for vegans, there is no milk or milk produce, but you have to be careful since even here some animal product can be present. They will not be clearly indicated, and maybe they are those byproducts that are made at the moment when they manufactured. No one can be sure, but we also must say that you the safest way of eating candy that is vegan 100 per cent is to make it yourself.

We believe that these sweets will quench your craving for the sweet, and the fact that they have nothing animal in their composition will calm your conscience, and you will literally be able to enjoy your biscuits, chocolates, pralines and candies immaculately.

Today, we want to find out is one of the most interesting and loved candy in the UK and USA, Starburst, vegan or not? The only way we can answer this question is to look at the list of ingredients and to learn as much as we can about the company that makes them; often they make statements regarding this issue. Often, people contact them to find out for sure is a certain candy or any other product vegan or not.

Starburst is the candy that most of us have tried during life, and these sweet candies are recognized for their genuine fruity flavorings – blackcurrant, strawberry, lime, and orange, these dies are enjoyed by many.

During years the list of flavors just kept getting bigger, just as the market demanded, and it is understandable since the candy market is always expanding.

Starburst – square candy with the fruity taste 

Here is one more candy that is chewy and fruity, and for many of us, it is the sweet taste of childhood – there is almost no one who did not try this interesting candy, and frankly we cannot find almost any other candy that has as many flavors like this one.

Now they are owned by the Mars Company and are still one of the favorite candies on the market, but the question that we want to answer here is – with such variety of tastes, is there at least one of them that are vegan-friendly.

First, when this candy came into the market, it was known by the name Opal Fruits and came into the world in the UK primarily, and later on, they have expanded on other markets like Ireland and USA. The founder was a man known by the name Peter Pfeiffer.

Primarily, there were four initial flavorings – lime, strawberry, orange, and lemon. Some say that they have remain favorites, the most popular and widely accepted is the Original taste, that is by many the most favorite of all.

Because of their sweet taste, they were advertised as candies that make your mouth water – and truly, if you remember what is like to have one of these, it is truly like this.

This candy came into the US market in the late 60s, and it was renamed as Starburst, with a wide variety of tastes.

Now, you can find tastes like Berries & Creme, Very Berry and Fruity Slushies, Limited Edition Retro Fruits, Baja California, Sour, Tropical, Strawberry Mix. There are mixtures of all kinds of fruits, and all of them aim to be fresh, sweet and with a twist.

There are also added flavorings are Citrus Slush, Blue Raspberry Rush Kiwi, Blackberry, Strawberry Lemonade Chill, Banana, Strawberry-Banana, Plum, Blueberry, Passion Fruit, Cherry Splash, Melon, Raspberry, and Mango.

Nowadays they are marketed as Unexplainably Juicy candy, and many are thrilled with it.

Ingredients

When you look at the label of Starburst (that is printed on a bag or box of this candy), you can see that besides regular and well-known sugar that is used in every candy, corn syrup, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, citric acid, fruit juice from concentrate that comes from fruit like lemon or strawberry, orange, apple, or cherry.

We must take a deeper look at the palm oil that is mentioned here -it is most usually seen in food items or in cosmetic production. Such oil is utilized to enhance taste, stop running and increase its shelf time. It is also unscented and transparent, which suggests it will not alter the produce it is joined to.

Also, there is dextrin, and here it is important to know what it is so that you can find out is it vegan or not. Dextrin belongs to the carbohydrates that are produced from starch, and it is used for bonding, color thickening, binding some elements in a product; when dissolved, it can be used as an adhesive. As you can see, it is used in numerous industries, and food (candy) also – it is a common element in the candy industry.

It is obtained when starch is heated to a certain temperature, then, in such process; it dissolves in water and can be glued as a rubber solution. In the end, the most important aspect that is found in Starburst is gelatin.

This is the main thing that does not allow Starburst to be vegan is the existence of gelatin, but there is one more thing here – it is used only some countries and not in others.

So they can be vegan, depending on the country you buy them – some make them with gelatin and others do not use it.

Are Starburst Vegan

It is said that Starburst are vegan in the UK, but in the USA they are made out of non-vegetarian gelatin in its components.

Gelatin is obtained of collagen, a protein that provides energy and help to muscles and organs and is the central component of connective muscle in all animals. It is combined with most desserts, most frequently gummy or similar candies, and as you could see, it is a part of the Starburst production at least in the UK.

Vegans are advised to pay attention to this ingredient, as some (rare) producers also use vegetable gelatin – or some of the versions of it, or substitutes, but we understand why so many candy manufacturers use gelatin. It is cheap and easy to use.

Attention is also advised to all members of the religions who explicitly forbid the consumption of any constituent of animal (pig) origin – because gelatin is mainly obtained from pigskin. This is truly one of the most problematic parts when you are on a vegan diet.

All other elements that are found in the Starburst do not imply that vegans cannot eat them, but the gelatin is, as expected, the one that comes from an animal source.

Additionally, we must say one more thing – in one statement, in one piece that we find online, the producer of this candy stated that they do use animal gelatin so that their candy is not vegan.

Are Starburst Healthy

Now, when we know that at least in the UK, Starburst are not vegan, the other, equally important question is, are the, at least healthy, or as not as problematic as some other candies that we know are bad for our health?

There are several issues to think about here, and you have to look at its ingredients and find out as much as we can about them, their nutritional value, etc.

Corn syrup is one of the main elements found in this candy and is also known as sweet crack (like some doctors and nutritionists like to call it), and it is almost an inevitable ingredient of every candy you can think of. Today it is used in place of sugar beet and cane because it is cheaper to produce. It contains about the same amount of calories as sugar but is not processed well enough by the human body, leading to obesity.

It is closely linked to obesity, heart disease, diabetes and liver problems. Plus, it is made from genetically modified corn (GMO).

There are so many health issues that are connected to the corn syrup, and it is truly something to think about when you give your kids this candy or any other.

Also, here we can find a lot of sugar just like in any candy – there are several problematic issues here.

First, the liver has a certain capacity to process sugar and use it as energy, but the key is that the capacity is determined. In other words, all the sugar that the liver fails to process is converted to fat, increasing the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Gelatin, by itself, is not such a problematic aspect in the sense of health, and here we do not find any artificial colors that would make a health issue.

Summary

Many vegans who practice this lifestyle and diet often find themselves in the unenviable situation of wanting to taste industrial sweets; it is an ok and normal reaction, it is something that we use to take, and it is very hard to “get off” of them.

Of course, ‘homemade’ fruity candy are the best option, but often due to lack of time or purely from the current need for sweets, you find yourself in line between the shelves of a supermarket by reading the ingredient list, completely confused as to whether the aroma is vegan or not. This process takes a long time, and we could all agree that when you crave something sweet, you do not have any time to waste, you want it right now.

And even more often, after looking at weets with milk, powdered milk, or whey in the composition, you give up, frustrated by the search – it seems that there cannot be found any candy that is vegan-friendly, especially in those countries that are as well developed as some other, where veganism is better accepted.

Having in mind a simple fact that Starburst are not vegan, simply because it contains gelatin, and it comes from the beef source, just as the company has confirmed, but on the market, you can find so many other healthier and vegan alternatives. You can look for them, or in the case, that you just want to eat Starburst, you should try to find the one that is manufactured in the USA, their products are vegan since they do not use gelatin, like those in the UK.

There is an abundance of other vegan sweet options out there that don’t contain gelatin just like gummy bears that are vegan; you can find them on the market, and if you cannot there is a good chance that you will find a great vegan and gluten-free receipt for gummy and fruity candy online.

Usually, they are made utilizing just plain and basic components, and you can be certain that none of them includes any animal byproducts or other harmful components.

Furthermore, to make things great, most of the companies are incredibly friendly toward the environment and give as much as they can to help decrease their carbon trail while remaining humane.