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In the name of the law FSA guidance

The Vegetarian Society Defining moment

Reading the label

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.