Food labelling: what to look out for

Where the UK stands on labelling

Awareness of vegetarianism and veganism is high in the UK, but vegetarians and vegans can still have a hard time finding food that they can be absolutely sure fits their dietary and ethical requirements.

Those in the UK may have it easier than in many European countries, where it's not unusual for a little bit of ham to turn up in a supposedly meat-free dish. In the UK, restaurants generally indicate which of their dishes are vegetarian and vegan.

There's still some confusion as to what vegetarians and vegans do and don't eat, partly because many people who call themselves vegetarian can sometimes turn a blind eye to the small print on labels. That packet of chewy sweets may get the better of them, even if they know there's gelatine lurking inside.

Labelling and the law

Many vegetarians and vegans, however, want to be absolutely sure that they aren't consuming any product or by-product of slaughter or, in the case of vegans, any animal-derived product at all. This is made difficult by the fact that there's no law, either at UK or EU level, that requires food to be labelled in terms of its suitability for vegetarians or vegans. Such labelling is purely voluntary, and is left open to the interpretation of the manufacturer or retailer - unlike organic food, which is regulated by EU law and must meet certain standards before calling itself 'organic'.

However, by law, vegetarian and vegan foods, as with all foods, must not have misleading labelling, or the manufacturers can leave themselves open to prosecution, so you should be able to feel relatively confident that a product that's labelled as vegetarian or vegan is suitable.

FSA guidance

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) issued guidance on vegetarian labelling in April 2006, which states that "the term 'vegetarian' should not be applied to foods that are, or have been made from or with the aid of products derived from animals that have died..."

The FSA's guidance for vegan labelling is that "the term 'vegan' should not be applied to foods that are, or are made from or with the aid of animals or animal products (including products from living animals)". So not only the end-products, but the processes used in their manufacture, such as the use of gelatine or isinglass (which comes from fish) in the making of some alcoholic drinks, are covered by the guidance. However, by law, the use of non-vegetarian or vegan processes in production doesn't need to be declared on labels of products that don't specify whether they're suitable for vegetarians or vegans or not.

Some vegetarians and vegans believe that the FSA's guidance doesn't go quite far enough. They're faced with a situation in which different manufacturers, shops and supermarkets have their own rules for labelling, without knowing exactly what their criteria are.

The Vegetarian Society

The Vegetarian Society has its own labelling system, the seedling logo, which was first registered as a trademark in 1969. It's now licensed to be used on more than 5,000 product lines in the UK and abroad. Manufacturers must apply for a licence and fulfil strict criteria, which go beyond the FSA's guidance and beyond the definition of a vegetarian simply as someone who doesn't eat meat.

The Vegetarian Society will not license as vegetarian a product that's made using eggs that aren't free-range. Indeed, the meat-substitute Quorn was not licensed by the society until 2005 because before then battery eggs were used in its production. The society's decision not to allow GM ingredients in the products they certify goes even further in extending their definition of what is and isn't suitable for vegetarians to eat, and what they assume a vegetarian's ethical stance to be. This may be seen as a positive thing, in that a popular product such as Quorn was forced to use free-range eggs in order to get approval from The Vegetarian Society - clearly an important stamp of approval for a product geared towards vegetarians.

Eggs and vegetarians

The issue of eggs is a blurry area in vegetarian labelling, even more so because some vegetarians, such as some Hindus, don't eat eggs at all for religious reasons, because they see the egg as a potential animal. This is one of the aspects that may make any potential for legislation on vegetarian labelling more complex than is the case for vegan labelling, because it's clearer what vegans exclude.

In any case, neither the Vegetarian nor the Vegan Society is pressing for the introduction of legislation, although both are keen for there to be more encouragement for companies to follow the FSA's guidelines correctly and for more clarity on labels. The Vegetarian Society's Chris Olivant believes that in an ideal world there would be a legal requirement to label food according to its suitability for vegetarians, but says: "finding a UK solution when you're in a common market is very difficult". In other words, it would be impossible to reach a consensus given the differing definitions of vegetarianism in different parts of the world and among different communities.

Before considering whether a legal definition is necessary, the government would first wish to see whether the voluntary criteria as set out in the FSA's guidance is effective in improving labelling and increasing consumer confidence. This guidance would be subject to periodic review.

Reading the labels

If a product's not labelled as vegetarian or vegan, it may still be suitable, but you'll need to check the ingredients, or ask the staff if you're eating in a restaurant. You might find it helpful to print off the following list of common ingredient pitfalls, to take with you when you go shopping. Look out for:

Additives and E numbers:

this is the trickiest part of deciphering food labelling, as few of us know off by heart what those E numbers really mean. Cochineal (E120) is always unsuitable, because it's made from crushed insects. It's a crimson colouring found in the alcoholic drink Campari and some sweets. Because of concern surrounding artificial colourings, naturally sourced cochineal is being used more and more.

Vegans should look out for beeswax (E901), which is used as a glazing agent, and lactic acid (E270), as well as lactose and other milk-derived ingredients.

A number of other additives may or may not be vegetarian or vegan, and there is no obligation for the manufacturer to specify this in the ingredients list. For example, glycerine and other fat-based additives may be animal-derived; in such cases, according to The Vegetarian Society's Chris Olivant, "you have to assume the worst". The Vegetarian Society publishes a list of the additives that may not be suitable - you can contact the manufacturer to find out the source of its additives, but realistically it won't be possible to ask in every instance.

The Vegan Society produces a guide called the Animal-Free Shopper, which lists products whose ingredients they've checked out, to save you the trouble of contacting the companies yourself - however, it's difficult for them to stay completely up-to-date as manufacturers frequently change the recipes of their products.

Other ingredients to look out for:

• Albumen: another name for egg white, albumen is found in various products, especially baked goods.
• Anchovies: beware of anchovies in Worcestershire sauce and shrimp paste or fish sauce in Thai curry pastes.
• Animal fats: derived from animal carcasses, animal fats are sometimes found in biscuits and cakes, in the form of lard in pastry or suet in puddings and mincemeat. Animal fats can also be found in margarines, spreads and ice creams. Watch out for chips fried in animal fats.
• Gelatine: a by-product of the meat industry, gelatine is made from boiled animal ligaments and bones. The collagen from the animal parts acts as a setting agent that is used in sweets, particularly chewy ones; nutritional supplements in capsule form, ice cream, yoghurts and desserts such as mousses, jellies and panna cotta. Look out for gelatine in low-fat versions of products such as yoghurts and desserts - it's sometimes added for texture to help the product hold together.
• Meat stocks: can turn up in soups and gravies.
• Rennet: found in many hard cheeses. Rennet is an enzyme extracted from the stomach lining of slaughtered calves. Vegetarian cheese can be made using microbial or fungal enzymes. While you will usually be able to find vegetarian cheddars and other common hard cheeses, traditional parmesan is always made with animal-derived rennet. There are, however, some vegetarian parmesan-style cheeses produced in the UK such as Twineham Grange. (For this reason, recipes calling for 'parmesan' are included as 'vegetarian' in BBC Food's recipe database.) Cheese powders used to flavour crisps are often non-vegetarian.
• Vitamin D3: margarines may contain vitamin D3 which is derived from lanolin from sheep's wool and therefore unsuitable for vegans; D2 is fine though.
• Whey: The Vegetarian Society recommends avoiding whey, which is usually a by-product of the cheese-making process where rennet has been used. Whey is often used as a flavour carrier in crisps. There was controversy surrounding Masterfoods' decision in 2007 to use whey from a non-vegetarian source in the production of its confectionery, including Mars bars. The company was forced to reverse this policy after 6,000 people complained within just one week of the announcement.

For further information, contact The Vegetarian Society or The Vegan Society.