The yogurt shop 16 Handles indicates its vegan offerings with a vegan icon. See:
http://16handles.com/flavors/?yogurt#
Locations are at: http://16handles.com/locations/

Here are ingredients for YoSoy Chocolate marked as vegan:
Water, Sugar, Corn Syrup Solids,
Coconut Oil, Cocoa Processed with Alkali,
Maltodextrin, Soy Protein Isolate, Vegetable
Stabilizer (Mono & Diglcerides, Cellulose Gel,
Cellulose Gum Locust Bean Gum, Carrageenan),
Tahitian Vanilla

and
Superfruit Acai:
Sugar, Açai, Raspberries,
Blackberries, Strawberries, Fruit Juice, Vegetable
Stabilizer.

The contents of this website and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

For information on more chains, see http://www.vrg.org/fastfoodinfo.php

For information on vegetarian and vegan restaurants, see http://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

There are many dishes labeled as vegan at Souplantation & Sweet Tomatoes. The VRG asked Jim Ruggiero, Guest Relations Manager at Souplantation & Sweet Tomatoes, about their definition of “vegan” and received this email response:

We define “vegan” as any menu item not containing meat, dairy, eggs or any other animal-derived product.
For further clarification, The VRG asked if honey is present in any vegan-labeled menu item. Jim replied:
We consider honey to be animal-derived so we exclude labeling anything with honey as vegan.
We also asked Jim if the sugar used in some of their vegan dishes had been filtered through cow bone char. After checking with suppliers he stated:
I heard back from our multiple sugar vendors and currently our sugar products are not processed with bone char. However, as we move forward with purchasing products that are more locally sourced/GMO-free/gluten friendly this may change.
Concerning how the vegan dishes are labeled Jim wrote:
The vegan menu items have a label of “VE” on them. This applies to any soup, salad, dressing or bread. Items such as carrots, onions, broccoli, etc. do not have that label. Our menu on the website is also labeled and we do a blog post at the beginning of each month with allergens and dietary preferences available.
All of the vegan menu items offered at Souplantation & Sweet Tomatoes are listed on the chain’s nutrition page: http://www.souplantation.com/nutritionguide/
Here is a listing of vegan menu options at Souplantation & Sweet Tomatoes exactly as they appear as of October 2016. Please note: This list can and does change. In fact we noticed (and included) several updates made between the September and October drafts of this article.
Souplantation & Sweet Tomatoes also uses a vegetarian label for many other menu items. Some dishes which may be commonly prepared as vegan or vegetarian (such as Pumpkin Spice Soup or Curried Pineapple & Ginger under “Hot Pastas & Kitchen Favorites”) but are not at this restaurant chain are labeled specifically as “non-vegetarian” apparently to avoid customer regret if accidentally consumed.
Tossed Salads

Field of Greens: Citrus Vinaigrette
Italiano Fresco Mix
Mandarin Spinach w/ Carmelized Walnuts
Strawberry Fields with Caramelized Walnuts
Thai Peanut & Red Pepper
Thai Udon & Peanut
Prepared Salads

Arugula Citrus
Aunt Doris’ Red Pepper Slaw
Baja Bean & Cilantro
Bok Choy Citrus Slaw
Chipotle Mango Slaw
Chipotle, Lime & Cilantro Quinoa
Citrus Penne Pasta
Curtido
Dijon Potato w/ Garlic Dill Vinaigrette
Dill and Dijon Potato
Fall Harvest Quinoa Salad
Fresh Herb Thai Slaw
Hong Kong Pearl Barley & Green Bean
Italian White Bean
Kale & Harvest w/ Almonds
Lemon Linguine with Fresh Basil
Lemon Rice w/ Cashews
Mandarin Noodles w/ Broccoli
Mandarin Shells w/ Almonds
Mandarin Udon w/ Almonds & Snow Peas
Provencal Green Bean & Potato Salad
Roasted Potato w/ Chipotle Chile Vinaigrette
Spicy Southwestern Pasta
Summer Barley w/ Black Beans
Sweet & Sour Broccoli Slaw
Sweet & Tangy Asian Quinoa Toss
Sweet Marinated Vegetables
Sweet Onion & Yukon Gold Potatoes
Tabouli
Thai Citrus & Brown Rice
Three Bean Marinade
Tomato Cucumber Marinade
Dressings

Bell Pepper Blend
Calavo Guacamole
Corn Salsa
Solstice Harvest Blend
Spicy & Sweet Pepita Sunflower Seed Mix
Soups

Classical Minestrone
Creamy, Nutty Zucchini & Basil Bisque
Fiery Quinoa & Black Bean Chili
Hearty Harvest Mexican Stew
Indian Lentil
Roasted Ratatouille
Santa Fe Black Bean Chili
Seven Vegetable
Sizzling Sriracha Udon
Veggie Hot & Sour
Bakery

Flour Tortilla
Sourdough Bread
Hot Pastas & Kitchen Favorites

Cal Rose Rice
Cilantro Lime Rice
Jakarta Ginger Curry w/ GF Soy Sauce
Jakarta Ginger Curry w/ GF Tamari Soy Sauce
Sautéed Balsamic Vegetables
Sensational Sweet & Sour w/ GF Soy sauce
Sensational Sweet & Sour w/ GF Tamari Soy Sauce
Sizzling Shanghai Asparagus w/ GF Soy Sauce
Sizzling Shanghai Asparagus w/ Tamari GF Soy Sauce
Desserts

Baked Cinnamon Apples
Condiment – Cinnamon
Condiment – Cinnamon Sugar Topping
Condiment – Maple Syrup
Condiment – Powdered Sugar
Condiment – Strawberry Topping
Pound Cake – Strawberry Topping
Breakfast
Oatmeal

For information on other restaurant chains, see http://www.vrg.org/fastfoodinfo.php
For information on vegetarian restaurants, see http://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

The contents of this posting, our website, and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

Taco Bell released an updated version of an online guide titled How to
Eat Vegetarian and Meatless at Taco Bell:
https://www.tacobell.com/feed/how-to-eat-veggie in August 2016.
Missy Nelson, RD of Taco Bell responded to The Vegetarian Resource Group
with more detail about how Taco Bell defines “vegetarian” and “vegan.”
She told us:

Our definitions are as follows:

Lacto-ovo vegetarianism is defined by the practice of eating
grains, pulses, nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruits with the use of
dairy products and eggs. A vegetarian does not eat any meat, poultry,
game, fish, shellfish or by-products of slaughter. Any material
taken/extracted/processed-through from animals, birds, insects, marine
animals, or slaughter by- products such as gelatin, enzymes, animal
fats, or bone char are non-vegetarian.

Ms. Nelson indicated that in addition to the lacto-ovo statement above,
vegans do not eat any animal products or byproducts such as honey or
ingredients processed from fur or feathers.

Taco Bell told us that items certified as vegetarian or vegan do not
contain sugar that has been processed through bone char. The same sugar
isn’t necessarily used for items not certified as vegan or
vegetarian.

The full certified vegetarian menu can be found here
https://www.tacobell.com/food/vegetarian; however, people can customize
to fit their specific needs.

At the bottom of their Vegetarian page Taco Bell posts this disclaimer:

Taco Bell…offers…AVA-certified vegetarian food items, which
defines vegetarian as lacto-ovo, allowing the consumption of dairy and
eggs but does not include any animal byproducts. Please note that in
some restaurants we use the same frying oil to prepare menu items that
may or may not contain meat. All vegetarian ingredients are handled by
our employees in common with meat ingredients, which may not be
acceptable to certain types of vegetarian diets. We cannot guarantee
that cross contact with meat products will not occur…

On its Ingredient Statements page Taco Bell identifies its AVA-certified
vegetarian and AVA-certified vegan ingredients.
https://www.tacobell.com/food/nutrition/ingredients

Here is a partiallisting of the AVA-certified vegan ingredients:

black beans
fire sauce (hot & mild)
express nacho chips (regional)
fire roasted salsa
flour tortilla
Gordita flatbread
green chile sauce (regional)
green tomatillo sauce (regional)
Mexican pizza sauce
pico de gallo
guacamole
Latin rice
rainforest coffee
red sauce
red strips
refried beans
salsa del sol
taco shell
tostada shell

In its updated guide linked above Taco Bell lists 11 vegetarian menu
items. Of these as presented, only one is vegan (Black Beans & Rice) but
seven others can easily be made vegan by excluding for instance cheese
or sour cream:

1. Black Bean Burrito
2. Black Beans & Rice
3. Veggie Power Menu Bowl
4. Veggie Power Menu Burrito
5. Spicy Tostada
6. 7-Layer Burrito
7. Bean Burrito
8. Pintos N Cheese

From Taco Bell’s website it is possible to customize menu options with
“Tasty Upgrades” many of which are vegan. See:
https://www.tacobell.com/food/vegetarian

Patrons also have the option to “Change What’s Included.” For example on
the Pintos N Cheese page, customers could exclude the cheese and upgrade
with guacamole. The adjusted price reflecting upgrades is calculated
automatically onsite. Deletions of any included components do not result
in a reduced final price. See:
https://www.tacobell.com/food/sides/pintos-n-cheese

The VRG asked Missy for more detail on some of the ingredients in
certain menu items and in the Tasty Upgrades. We learned that the beans,
rice and red sauce of the Black Bean Burrito are not prepared with
animal broths or stocks and all of the natural flavors in this burrito
are all-vegetable. The monoglycerides and enzymes in the flour tortilla
are also non-animal.

The Veggie Power Menu Burrito lists Mexican pizza sauce as a Tasty
Upgrade. Missy told us that its natural flavors are all-vegetable. The
“beans,” also an all-vegetable Tasty Upgrade in both ingredients and
preparation, are Taco Bell’s Refried Beans (as listed in the Ingredient
Statements.)

The Spicy Tostada is served on the tostada shell with refried beans.

Taco Bell further elaborated on their frying oil in their updated online
guide:

In some of our restaurants, we use the same frying oil to prepare
menu items that may or may not contain meat. Therefore, menu items fried
in oil like hash browns, chips, cinnamon twists, potatoes and the
Fiesta taco salad shell are not acceptable to the AVA-certified
vegetarian diet because of the potential cross contact.

There is also a nutrition calculator on Taco Bell’s website. It is
different from many in that it allows a patron to adjust portions
(doubling for example) and presents the information in a familiar
nutrition facts label format:
https://www.tacobell.com/food/nutrition/calculator
On its Allergen Info page, it is possible to filter out all of the
animal products (eggs, milk, fish and shellfish) to create an
approximate vegan filter. See:
https://www.tacobell.com/food/nutrition/allergen-info
Vegan consumers should be aware that certain listings using this filter
set include hashbrowns, chips and cinnamon twists all of which contain
no animal ingredients per se but may have been fried in oil used to
prepare meat products. Interestingly the only “Vegetarian Menu” entrée
(excluding side dishes grouped in their own category) which came up was
the Black Beans & Rice dish which means it is the only
vegan-to-begin-with entrée listed on Taco Bell’s menu. Fresco meat
dishes also appeared using this approximate vegan filter since the
allergen list does not include meat.

On its FAQ page the first food-related question and answer:
https://www.tacobell.com/faq
Q: Does Taco Bell offer vegetarian-friendly options?
A: Yes…and people love it! We sell 350 million vegetarian items a year
and about 7 percent of all items ordered at Taco Bell are either
vegetarian-friendly, or made vegetarian-friendly by some type of
substitution or removal. Some of our most popular are the classic Bean
Burrito, 7-Layer Burrito, Cantina Power Veggie Bowl…Plus, you can
customize almost any item on our menu by replacing meat with beans.

Thank you to Jeanne Yacoubou, MS for her research on Taco Bell products.

The contents of this posting, website and our other publications,
including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal
medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified
health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient
information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure
about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and
mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a
product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or
confirmation on your own.

For more information on restaurant chains, see
http://www.vrg.org/fastfoodinfo.php
For information on vegetarian restaurants, see
http://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

By Alicia Hückmann, intern visiting from Germany

Growing up in a tiny, rural German village as the descendant of sausage-lovers, I was destined to get in trouble when I decided to become a vegan. To be fair, I was already 18 years old and moving into my own flat at that time, so I probably had different opportunities of dealing with the issue than younger teenagers might have. The arguments I regularly got into, the accusations I had to face, and the mistakes I made, however, were probably very similar to those of any other underage vegan. For this reason, I made a list of the three main reasons my parents did not approve of my diet and what I did (or could have done in retrospective) to prove them wrong.

Health
What they said: “Veganism is bad for your health. Your diet is not balanced at all.”
What I heard: “We don’t care if you did hours of research on nutrients because parents always know better and that’s a fact.”
What they probably meant to say: “We worry about you and we want you to be healthy. Some sources say that veganism is not good for teenagers and even though we don’t know for sure whether they are wrong, we would rather you listen to them than take an unnecessary risk.”

Whenever I talk to non-vegans about my experiences following a plant-based diet, health concerns are among the first things they respond with. Not very surprising considering how schools and dietitians constantly tell us that we need cow’s milk for our bones, that meat is full of iron and protein, and so forth. We are raised to believe that animal products are an indispensable part of a balanced diet. And although vegans statistically have a lower risk of developing typical diseases of civilization like diabetes, their diet is more commonly associated with malnutrition and deficiencies by the general public – and probably also by your parents. What many people don’t realize, however, is the fact that most vegans are just as aware of these requirements as they are. After all, switching to a healthy vegan diet often includes research that includes knowledge of nutrients and potential sources for them. For this reason, many vegans are actually much better informed about food than the average meat-eater!

So when talking to your parents about their health concerns, you want to make clear that you did enough research to make a responsible decision. If you haven’t already, check out The Vegetarian Resource Group’s general vegan nutrition guide (http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/vegan.htm), our brochure for vegan teenagers (http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/VeganNutritionForTeenagers.pdf) or other nutrition related articles (http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/) for scientific facts. Being able to list a few good sources for protein, iron, and calcium as well as to explain how to handle Vitamin D and B12 can be a good way of proving to your parents that you know what you’re doing. Also, put together an exemplary combination of fruits, vegetables, and grains or even a full menu that can provide you with enough nutrients to meet the recommended daily amount of all important nutrients.

If this doesn’t already convince your parents, you can offer to have your blood levels checked on a regular basis (which is something both vegans and non-vegans could be doing anyway). I had my first blood sample taken after about half a year of being a vegan – the results didn’t only take away much of my parents’ skepticism but also reassured me that my planning had worked out perfectly well. Most people when switching diets would not go to this extent though.

Extra burden/misinformation
What they said: “Vegan food is exorbitant; we don’t have enough money for that. Besides, do you expect me to cook for the family AND give you special treatment?”
What I heard: “We have no clue what veganism is all about but that doesn’t mean we have to listen to your explanations and suggestions when we can just give you a rant about it.”
What they probably meant to say: “The decisions you make often affect the entire family, not just yourself. We have enough things to worry about. If you ask for special treatment, it makes us feel like you don’t appreciate that we are already doing so much for you.

Due to the fact that I was already living on my own when I became a vegan, cooking is a rather minor issue for me and my family. The only times it becomes a bit problematic is during weekends and holidays when I come home. As my family’s kitchen is not exactly vegan-friendly – bread, apples, and tomatoes are among the few things that don’t contain any animal products – I often have to rely on them taking me to the closest grocery store in a nearby town.

So this is the first tip I have for you: Go shopping together with your family. Don’t just give them a list of the things you need. When it comes to processed vegan food especially, it can get pretty confusing for non-vegans – and you don’t want their first vegan shopping experiences to be frustrating. If they insist that veganism is expensive, prove them wrong. Instead of wasting your money on meat and dairy alternatives that you don’t necessarily need, try to focus on simple, healthy and cheap food like dry lentils (iron!) and beans (protein!) as well as fresh fruits and vegetables. You and your family will be surprised how much money can actually be saved by cutting down on animal products.

Once you’ve managed to sneak your vegan food into your family’s kitchen, you’ll have to find a solution for family dinners. While cooking for three or more people is already a lot of work, it gets worse if one of them demands a different meal. Then again, do you really need special treatment? Many (side) dishes can be enjoyed by both meat-eaters and vegans as they are – like stir-fried vegetables or soups – and sometimes there is only one or two ingredients that need to be replaced in order for the dish to be vegan. If your parents decide to make a salad for example, ask them to put some of it in a separate bowl before adding any non-vegan ingredients or dressing. Make a list of meals and sides that are vegan “by accident” (like spaghetti with tomato sauce) and that are enjoyed by everyone in the family. In case your parents are not very compromising (or not keen on eating vegetables in general), you’ll probably have to cook for yourself. With hundreds of thousands of quick and easy vegan recipes out there, this should not really be a problem though. Once you move out and have to rely on your own, you will probably be very thankful for this experience, by the way!

One final tip for this section: Never try to shame or convert anyone at the dinner table (or anywhere, ever). The best thing you can do in order to get people interested in and more accepting of your diet is setting a good example. If anyone makes comments about your food (how they could never live without xy, how plants are not filling at all, etc.), surprise your family with a vegan version of their favorite dish, a cake, muffins, or even a full vegan menu.

Growing up
What they said: “Vegan? That’s just another silly phase. Why can’t you just be a normal person like everyone else?
What I heard: “We have no intentions of taking you or your life choices seriously, no matter how grown up you think you are.”
What they probably meant to say: “We are not ready to accept that you are growing up so quickly and making life choices that are so different from ours. It gives us the impression that you are estranging yourself from us, maybe even willingly.

Looking back I know that many of the fights my family and I had about veganism were not about veganism at all. Did you notice that you could replace “vegan” with basically anything in the example above, be it an unusual hobby, a career path you’re interested in, or even the wish to get tattooed? During our teenage years, we struggle to find out who we are and what we want to do with our lives. And as if this wasn’t enough of a burden already, we also have to deal with the fact that our parents are not always happy with the results.

I like to think about my decision to go vegan as the tip of an iceberg. Just like the bit of ice that is visible above the surface, my diet was not actually a big issue in itself after a while, yet something of whose existence my family was reminded of each time we had a meal together. The many arguments we had as a result were not solely centered about veganism but always gradually drifted towards underlying and more deeply rooted issues like the fact that I was living away from home and that they hated my significant other. In the end, it all came back to their fear to lose touch with as well as control over me and to be unable to protect me from making (what they considered) bad decisions. At some point I realized that veganism really only served as a trigger or an excuse to start a fight about the topics they actually cared about.

So if your parents react unreasonably sensitive or aggressive to your new diet, try to look at the bigger picture. Are there any other issues that bother your parents at the moment? Do they have the impression that you are distancing themselves from them?

If yes, I am afraid this is an issue that cannot be solved as easily as the two before. The only tips I can give you for this one: Firstly, don’t join the argument. If you can already guess where it is going to end, make clear that you are not going to have the same discussion again unless they have any new questions that you haven’t answered yet. And secondly, let your parents know that no matter what you do, you will always love and appreciate them. On first sight, going vegan could be (wrongly) interpreted as estranging yourself from your meat-eating family – but doesn’t your choice rather prove that your parents succeeded in teaching you empathy, commitment, and critical thinking?

One final remark: While some parents are very supportive of their vegan children from the very beginning, others will need a little persuading in the beginning. And then there are parents like mine who will slowly start to tolerate their children’s diet choices after a year or longer. I have been a vegan for more than 1½ years now and finally reached a point where my family does not make comments about the food on my plate and mostly leaves me alone during meals. On the other hand, my sister has become a big fan of my cooking skills and always asks me to make a cake when she has a party. In the end, the most effective ways to convince someone that veganism isn’t that bad after all are patience, persistence, and kindness!

By Heather Francis, VRG Intern

As a runner and nutrition student, you could expect my favorite meal to be a loaded fruit salad or nice cream topped with kiwi and chopped nuts. Maybe it’s a hearty green curry with potatoes or a fresh salad loaded with arugula and topped with flax seed. That’s not the case; although I do love that entire list. My go to meal for breakfast or dinner are fluffy, moist, warm, and gooey chocolate chip pancakes. Of course, I do add a ton of fruit on top of the pancakes when I’m eating them.

I devour a stack of pancakes at least 3-4 times a week, and when I say a stack of pancakes, I’m talking The Leaning Tower of Pisa worth of pancakes. I have played around with different recipes, and have come up with my best and favorite one which I’m most-willing to share with you. Enjoy!

Serves 4-5

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup spelt flour (I use the brand Veganic Spelt Flour. I have tried using whole wheat flour, but spelt comes out a lot better and tastes terrific.)
1 cup organic cane sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon 100% pure dark maple syrup
½ medium-sized lemon (optional)
½ cup vegan dairy-free chocolate chips
½ pint blueberries, 1 banana, ½ pint strawberries, walnuts, pecans (optional add-ins)
1 Tablespoon Earth Balance Original Buttery Spread
1 teaspoon organic powdered sugar

1. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, sift the all-purpose flour, spelt flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together.
2. Stir in the almond milk, vanilla, and syrup. Add more almond milk to desired batter texture.
3. Squeeze ½ the lemon into the mixture along with chocolate chips and optional other add-ins.
4. In a medium-sized skillet pan, over medium heat melt the Earth Balance butter and measure out three ¼ cups of the batter onto the pan.
5. Cook 1 to 2 minutes or until golden brown and flip them over and cook until golden brown. Make sure when making the pancakes they are completely cooked on the inside, test this by using a fork and putting it through the middle.
6. Repeat until you finish the batter.
7. Once they are all cooked, serve with blueberries, strawberries, bananas, and/or walnuts/pecans.
8. Top with powdered sugar and maple syrup.
9. You can then eat them like cookies or as regular pancakes.

Note on Syrup: You don’t have to put syrup on these, they’re sweet enough as is, but ever since I was a little kid I could not eat or make pancakes without drowning them in syrup. So of course, I buy the Whole Foods Dark Maple Syrup. Not too sweet and not processed with High Fructose Corn Syrup. The syrup may be expensive, but it’s delicious and worth it. Also, when using it in the pancakes it’s not as watery so it aids to the pancakes ability to stay intact.

By Sasha Keenan, Vegetarian Resource Group Intern

Summer is in full swing, and the most delicious way to welcome the warmer weather is with a hearty vegan picnic. Twists on classics like chicken salad sandwiches and coleslaw make this menu familiar and simple–grab a blanket, pack your basket, and enjoy the sunshine with these recipes.

Chickenless Salad Sandwiches
(serves 3)

19 oz. package Beyond Meat chicken-free grilled strips, cut into cubes
⅓ cup diced celery
⅓ cup halved seedless grapes
¼ cup walnuts, diced
⅓ cup vegan mayonnaise
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon fresh dill
6 slices bread of your choosing

Put Beyond Meat cubes into a bowl with celery, grapes, and walnuts. Add vegan mayonnaise and stir. Then, add in lemon juice, salt, and dill while continuing to stir the mixture. Evenly scoop the salad onto bread and serve.

Spicy Edamame Hummus
(serves 4)

1 cup frozen shelled edamame, thawed
1 clove of garlic, diced
¼ of water
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon lime juice
1 Tablespoon tahini (sesame butter)
¼ cup chopped cilantro
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 Tablespoon of desired vegan hot sauce
Pinch of salt

Cook the edamame and diced garlic in a nonstick skillet over medium heat, using water instead of oil. Once the edamame and garlic has browned, turn off heat and set aside to let cool. When cooled, put the edamame and garlic into a food processor and chop until a chunky mixture forms. Add in lemon juice, lime juice, tahini, and hot sauce and pulse. Finally, add cilantro, cayenne, and salt. Keep chopping until smooth. Serve with fresh cucumbers and carrots.

Quinoa kale-slaw
(serves 4)

2 cups red quinoa, cooked
2 cups shredded kale
1 cup carrots, grated
⅓ cup chopped red bell pepper
1 medium avocado
⅓ orange, juiced
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Pinch of salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Clove of garlic, diced

Place cooked quinoa, kale, carrots, and red bell pepper in a bowl with a cover and set aside. Slice the avocado and put in a food processor with juiced orange, lemon juice, salt, cayenne pepper, and garlic. Process until mixture is smooth and liquefied. Pour dressing mixture over dry ingredients. Put lid on top of bowl and shake until dressing mixture evenly covers quinoa, kale, carrots, and red bell pepper. Let cool in fridge for an hour and serve.

Grilled Peach Bars
(serves 4)

For the filling:
2 Tablespoons vegan butter
2 Tablespoons organic brown sugar
2 fresh peaches
1 teaspoon cinnamon

For the crumble:
2 cups rolled oats
½ cup organic brown sugar
¼ stick vegan butter
1 medium banana
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt 2 tablespoons vegan butter and 1 tablespoon brown sugar in the microwave for 5 seconds. Halve peaches and remove pits. Using a basting brush, coat peach halves with butter and brown sugar mixture. Sprinkle remaining brown sugar and cinnamon on peach halves evenly. Heat grill to high. Grill peaches flat side down until golden brown and cooked through. Set grilled peaches aside to cool.

In a small bowl, mix rolled oats and ½ cup brown sugar. In a larger bowl, using a mixer mix ¼ stick vegan butter, banana, and vanilla until whipped consistency is reached. Add dry contents of small bowl to the butter mixture and mix, using hands if necessary. Pack about ¾ of the crumble mixture into an 8×8 inch pan.

Put grilled peach halves into a food processor and process until a jelly consistency is reached. Spread processed peaches over crumble mixture in pan. Add remaining bits of crumble mixture over peaches. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Let cool, slice, and serve.

Eat More Kale®: Chick-fil-A® Debuts Kale-Broccolini® Superfood Side
By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

Beginning in January 2016 Chick-fil-A introduced in all of its approximately 1,900 restaurants nationwide a kale-broccolini salad side dish. http://inside.chick-fil-a.com/superfood-side/

The dish consists of kale and broccolini tossed in a maple vinaigrette dressing and topped with dried sour cherries. It is served with an optional blend of roasted nuts (walnuts, almonds and pecans).

Broccolini is a trademarked hybrid of broccoli and Chinese kale. According to an article on the Chick-fil-A website http://inside.chick-fil-a.com/broccolini-the-biggest-thing-since-kale/ there is only one US grower and supplier of this cruciferous vegetable, family-owned produce supplier and Certified Women Owned® Business Mann Packing® http://veggiesmadeeasy.com/site/. The Superfood Side dish is anticipated to use 20% of the total broccolini supply in the U.S.

The Vegetarian Resource Group spoke with Leigh Jackson of a public relations firm representing Chick-fil-A. She contacted Chick-fil-A’s nutritionist on our behalf who confirmed by email that the Superfood Side is “all-vegetable.”

Superfood Side Ingredients
We followed up with Leigh by requesting more information about the ingredients in the new menu item. On the Chick-fil-A website we found this ingredient statement: https://www.chick-fil-a.com/Food/Menu-Detail/Superfood-Side#?details=ingredients

broccolini, kale, maple vinaigrette dressing (maple syrup, soybean oil, water, brown sugar, onion ([including dehydrated], distilled vinegar, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce [water, soybeans, salt, alcohol], balsamic vinegar, salt, spice, xanthan gum, potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate added as preservatives, maltodextrin, dextrose, canola oil, yeast extract, natural flavor, calcium disodium EDTA to protect flavor), dried cherries (cherries, sugar, sunflower oil), roasted nut blend (glazed walnuts [walnuts, sugar, natural flavor, canola oil], roasted almonds, glazed pecans [pecans, sugar, natural flavor, canola oil]).

Without our asking specifically about the sugar, this is what Chick-fil-A’s nutritionist relayed to us by email about the dressing when we inquired: “Is the maple vinaigrette dressing all-vegetable?”:

The maple vinaigrette dressing would be considered vegetarian in that it does not contain any meat-, poultry- or fish-derived ingredients. We would not consider this product vegan due to the possible use of the brown sugar being comprised of cane sugar that may have been filtered through bone char.

Sugar is also listed as an ingredient for the cherries and nuts. The VRG wished to know if the statement about the brown sugar also applied to the sugar on the cherries and the nuts. In other words, we asked if the sugar used on the cherries and on the nuts had been filtered through cow bone char.

After a few weeks Chick-fil-A’s nutritionist replied:
“I have good news to share regarding the sugar that we source to manufacture the roasted nut blend; it is indeed vegan. Thus, we have confirmation from the refineries that we source the sugar from that they are not using bone charcoal in any part of their processes.”

In light of this additional information about the sugar in the nut blend, The VRG wondered if the nutritionist’s earlier response about the brown sugar in the maple vinaigrette dressing needed to be reevaluated. So we asked again: Has Chick-fil-A confirmed with their brown sugar supplier that cow bone char was used to filter the sugar?

Chick-fil-A’s nutritionist replied a second time on this point: “We did confirm with the supplier on the brown sugar in the vinaigrette [that cow bone char filtration was possible].” No further information was provided.
Regarding how the sugar used in the cherries was processed, Chick-fil-A’s nutritionist originally stated: “We did confirm that the cherries are vegetarian but not vegan.”

We then asked Chick-fil-A’s nutritionist to clarify exactly what she had intended to say about the sugar in the cherries. We wanted to know if the statement above about the cherries implied that the sugar used on the cherries had definitely been filtered through cow bone char or possibly had been so whitened.

After a few more weeks, Chick-fil-A’s nutritionist responded to us a second time about the sugar on the cherries by informing us that

The sugar on the cherries would be classified as vegetarian, but not vegan, as the sugar has the potential to come into contact with animal products during the whitening process.

Q&A with Chick-fil-A’s Nutritionist
Here are several followup questions we asked Chick-fil-A and the nutritionist’s responses all relayed to us in a timely fashion:

Q: Is the maple vinaigrette dressing optional?
A: No, the dressing is applied to the kale and broccolini in larger portions, and then portioned into the salad bowls.

Q: Are the cherries and nuts optional?
A: The cherries are added to the larger portion recipe before serving it into the bowls so they are not optional. The nuts are optional.

Q: Was an animal-derived anti-foaming agent used to produce the maple syrup?
A: The maple vinaigrette does not contain any anti-foaming agents. Per the supplier, it is considered vegetarian.

We also wanted to know about the side dish’s preparation and Chick-fil-A’s kitchen protocols. The following is what we received by email as replies to our questions below:

Q: Are the kale and broccolini prepared without animal broths, animal fats, etc.?
A: The ingredients in the Superfood Salad are not cooked.

Q: Are the kale and broccolini prepared in pots never used for meat products?
A: The ingredients in the Superfood Salad are not prepared in pots.

Q: Are the kale and broccolini pre-prepared at a central location and delivered to restaurants or is the preparation onsite at each location?
A: The kale is pre-chopped while the broccolini arrives whole and is prepared in restaurant.

Q: How are the kale and broccolini cooked (sauteed, boiled, steamed, etc.?) or are they served raw like lettuce and hand-chopped at each location?
A: The Superfood Side is served raw.

Q: Are the kale and broccolini in this side dish prepared away from all meat products on a designated meat-free surface with sanitized, vegetable-only utensils?
A:We do prep the salad in a vegetable prep area where we prep all of our salads. I don’t know if the surface is specifically “meat free” but it is sanitized. I don’t know if the utensils are only used for vegetables, but they are clean and sanitized. We have separate prep areas for raw chicken vs. the salads, so there wouldn’t be any raw chicken in that area.

Taste Test
In April 2016 the writer purchased a Superfood Side at a surburban Maryland Chick-fil-A restaurant. Here are her comments.

Kale was the major component in the Side although broccolini is listed as the first ingredient on the statement given above. Both the kale and broccolini looked fresh. They were well-coated in the maple vinaigrette dressing but there was no excess liquid at the bottom except for a few isolated drops. There were approximately ten medium-sized cherries placed on the top of the kale/broccolini that easily could have been removed by a diner. The approximately one tablespoon of a nut blend came in a separate cellophane package.

The kale and broccolini’s natural taste was overpowered by the maple vinaigrette dressing which the writer found too acidic. At least the mildly maple flavor aftertaste compensated somewhat for the acidic vinaigrette.

The cherries sweetened up the entire dish too much for the writer’s taste so she removed most of them. The nuts enhanced the overall flavor of the Side.

The Side was packaged in a #5 plastic container. Made of polypropylene, #5 plastic is becoming more accepted at most recycling centers or look here for how to recycle #5 plastic: https://www.preserveproducts.com/recycle/programs/171/gimme-5-program.

The contents of this posting, our website, and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made.
To support The Vegetarian Resource Group research, donate at www.vrg.org/donate

To join The Vegetarian Resource Group, join at http://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

Creamy mac ‘n cheese. Taste the smooth, velvety sauce as you bite into al dente pasta, pulling a stretch of gooey goodness from your fork. It almost melts in your mouth. Now, imagine all that deliciousness is vegan. Yep, completely plant-based with no animal ingredients. No butter, no sour cream, no cheddar. Amazing, you say? Well, just wait until you taste it!

Baked, stove top, bubbly, or slow-cooked – mac ‘n cheese expresses the style of the individual making it. Experience the best Baltimore has to offer on Saturday February 20th at the Vegan Mac ‘n Cheese Smackdown, where local chefs and cooks will compete for vegan-cheesy excellence. The Vegan Mac ‘n Cheese Smackdown will be held from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM at the Urban Business Center, located at 1200 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21223.

Contestants’ vegan mac ‘n cheese will be judged on mouth feel, taste and texture. Categories include Best Overall Mac ‘n Cheese, Best Gluten-Free, Best “From Scratch” (ie, no processed ingredients), People’s Choice, and Most Like Grandma’s. Grand prizes include a mac trophy as well as gift cards to local businesses. Some lucky attendees can expect to win delightful door prizes, too!

This event is open to the public and costs $10 in advance or $15 at the door. More than 500 guests are expected to taste the city’s finest in vegan mac n’cheese! PEP Foods will be on hand to sell other savory and sweet vegan delights, and a variety of locally-made beverages will be available for purchase.

The Vegan Mac ‘n Cheese Smackdown is a fundraiser for PEP Foods, a collective of vegan businesses and activists. The goal of PEP Foods is to create healthy, affordable, environmentally-responsible alternatives to animal products that are available and accessible to everyone, regardless of income. The collective is currently renovating an all-vegan commercial kitchen in West Baltimore. Other event sponsors include Baltimore Vegan Drinks, A Well Fed World, Better Health Better Life, Open the Cages Alliance and Local Color Flowers.

Website & Tickets:
http://www.pepfoodsinc.com/fundraisers/#macncheese

Calendar Listing:
Vegan Mac ‘n Cheese Smackdown
February 20, 2016, 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Urban Business Center, 1200 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21223
Advance tickets, $10; $15 at the door
Join us for an over-the-top cheesy afternoon!

The Vegetarian Resource Group maintains an online Guide to Vegan/Vegetarian Restaurants in the USA and Canada. Below are some recent additions. The entire guide can be found here: http://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

B52 Vegan Bakery & Café
5202 Butler St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15201
B52 Café focuses on traditional American fare and savory pastries for breakfast and Middle Eastern and Mediterranean foods for lunch and dinner. Though most of the cuisine is Mediterranean, vegan cinnamon rolls, brownies, cookies, truffles, and more can still be enjoyed! Along with vegan staples such as tofu scramble and buckwheat pancakes.

Be Well Kitchen
4th Street Market
201 E. 4th St.
Santa Ana, CA 92701
After a consultation, the chef customized a unique meal plan for your needs. Programs range from a full day of three meals and a snack to week-long meals. Meals are available for pickup or delivery. Be Well Kitchen is devoted to flavorful and convenient healthy living.

The Cinnamon Snail
The Pennsy
2 Pennsylvania Plaza
New York, NY 10021
The Cinnamon Snail vegan food truck that serves mostly organic food, prepared without processed or artificial ingredients now has a store front location in Penn Station. Try their Thai BBQ Tempeh with Pickled Red Onions and Thai Basil, Arugula, Smoked Chili Roasted Peanuts and Sriracha Mayonnaise on Grilled Spelt Bread, their famous Beastmode Burger Deluxe, Ancho Chili Seitan Burger Grilled in Maple Bourbon BBQ Sauce with Jalapeno Max & Cheese, Arugula Smoked Chili Coconut Bacon and Chipotle Mayo on a Grilled Pretzel Bun, and a Lemongrass 5 Spice Seitan with Curried Cashews, Arugula, Sichuan Chili Sauce and Wasabi Mayonnaise on a Grilled Baguette. They also offer vegan desserts.

Dixie Dharma At Market On South
2603 E South St.
Orlando, FL 32803
Traditional southern dishes take on a plant-based twist at this market location. Dixie Dharma’s BBQ is known for its immaculate similarity to authentic pulled pork. Indulge in a “sloppy joe” or “baked mac ‘n cheese” at this hip location in central Florida.

Harvest Beat
1711 N 45th St.
Seattle, WA 98103
Harvest Beat is a restaurant on a mission. By creating prix-fixe menus based on the current availability of ingredients from local farmers and from their own gardens, which reduces the need for food storage and ultimately, food waste, and by composting all food scraps, they are keeping their carbon footprint to a minimum. Naturally, as the ingredients are always changing, so does the menu. This dish, served as the 4th course on a December menu, should give you an idea of the kind of fare served at Harvest Beat: eggplant roulade, jester squash mousse, grilled whiskey poached kohlrabi, Romanesco spears, micro arugula, and autumn olive chutney. There is also a limited take out lunch menu available offering soup and a sandwich wrap.

Kindred
1503 30th St.
San Diego, CA 92102
Located in South Park, Kindred boasts a wide selection of vegan cocktails. The menu features a number of classic dishes made vegan. Snack selections include Fried Pickles and Seitan Skewers. Main dishes range from the Memphis BBQ Jackfruit Sandwich to the Beet Risotto. Be sure to check out the weekend brunch menu, too. They are open late.

Nutritious You
6583 Midnight Pass Rd.
Siesta Key, FL 34242
The menu at Nutritious You includes a wide variety of snacks and cuisine with a health-conscious twist. Restaurant goers may recognize their snacks from various health food stores. The restaurant itself includes a wide variety of items including desserts, spreads, and take home items. Menu staples include options like Vegan Pizza or Falafel.

Revolution Juice
150 Huntington Ave.
Boston, MA 02115
Revolution Juice’s specialty is serving plant-based drinks to promote a nutritious and environmentally-friendly diet. Try their Carrot Ginger Curry, Vanilla Date-orade, or their Ginger Juice Shot from an expansive menu of juices, juice shots, smoothies, sorbets, coffees, teas, soups, snacks, and more at this juice bar which is located right between Newton and Belvidere Street.

Root
223 W Walnut St.
Lancaster, PA 17602
Root is the perfect vegan restaurant/bar to visit if you are in need of good vegan food and/or drinks! They offer a wide variety of specialty vegan foods including mushroom sliders, spinach dip, pizza, and Caesar salad! These typically non-vegan dishes are made with tofu, vegan cheeses, and mushrooms, and are much more delicious as a result. Stop in and enjoy a nice meal and vegan drinks!

Valhalla Bakery
2603 E South St.
Orlando, FL 32803
Valhalla Bakery is the perfect place to go to satisfy your vegan sweet-tooth craving. The cozy bakery is known for its Nanaimo bars, cupcakes, and artfully presented custom-order cakes that are suitable for any occasion from a birthday party to a wedding. Their ever-changing menu is also filled with a selection of pies, cookies, muffins, pretzels, tarts, buns, doughnuts, and even some gluten-free baked goods.

VeganBurg
1466 Haight St.
San Francisco, CA 94117
VeganBurg’s specialty is making completely vegan burgers. With the aim to promote an environmentally sustainable and nutritious diet, VeganBurg’s menu is full of options such as the Smoky BBQ (a mushroom burger high in beta-carotene) or the Tangy Tartar (a crunchy alfalfa burger with vegan tartar sauce). VeganBurg is not limited to burgers. Their sides include their Seaweed Fries and Handmade Spinach Pops, and they have a selection of vegan sweets. VeganBurg also has a Kiddie Meal for younger ones.

Vegebitez
9-2460 Neyagawa Blvd.
Oakville, ON L6H 7P4 Canada
Enjoy a wide range of fresh juices, vegan milk shakes, and more. For a late breakfast meal (served all day), you can sample muffins, parfaits, chickpea waffles, and scrambled tofu. For lunch or dinner try a wide range of salads, sides, and appetizers along with different types of burgers and sandwiches.

The Vegetarian Resource Group received a question about vegan-dedicated equipment (i.e., equipment that has never been in contact with animal or dairy ingredients) used to create chocolate. Our reader wondered if Divine Treasures http://dtchocolates.com/ located in Manchester, CT used this type of machinery since their chocolates are described as vegan on the website.

Divine Treasures
We spoke with Diane Wagemann the chocolatier founder and owner of Divine Treasures about her equipment. She told us that

“All of the equipment in my factory is vegan-dedicated. The equipment operated by my European suppliers to make the chocolate which I use to create my handmade divine treasures is not vegan-dedicated… My suppliers told me that they run cocoa butter by itself through their system after a milk chocolate run to ensure that any dairy residue is completely carried away.”

The chocolate Diane purchases from Europe is certified USDA Organic. The sugar is also certified USDA Organic. USDA Organic sugar has not been decolorized through cow bone char. Most non-USDA organic cane sugar is whitened through a cow bone char filter today in the United States.

Diane told us that the chocolate from her European suppliers is also “certified Fair Trade by the European community.” Diane’s chocolates do not carry this label nor the USDA Organic label because “…it is prohibitively expensive to pay the certifying agencies for use of their labels.” So Diane describes her handmade chocolates as “socially responsible.”

Divine Treasures chocolate is made from Peruvian cocoa beans shipped to and processed in Europe “the old-fashioned way…because they know chocolate.” There the chocolate is conched which means “the cocoa, sugar and other ingredients are thoroughly ground and blended producing a smooth and creamy texture…My high-quality chocolate is conched for a very long time up to three days rather than a few hours like inexpensive chocolate is.”

Here’s more information on conching: http://www.cacaochocolade.nl/main.php?lng=1&p=inhoud&h=5&g=1&s=5&z=0&sp=

From her European chocolate suppliers Diane receives “chocolate blocks containing cocoa, sugar, lecithin and vanilla…then I temper it on my machines to further enhance its mouthfeel to create my divine treasures.”

More information on chocolate tempering may be located here: http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2015/11/chocoloate-chemistry-cocoa-butter-crystal-structure-emulsion

Here’s a How It’s Made segment that takes viewers inside a chocolate manufacturing plant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkVlDRiB7j8

Diane commented on this video by saying:
“The video is interesting but the conching is not included. This would be done at the beginning stage before the truck delivers the chocolate. We do a lot of the same things but most things are done by hand. I would love to be able to afford the equipment and people that are doing all the chocolates. Dreaming positive and maybe someday we will be there.”

Although Diane would like to use chocolate that has been made on vegan-dedicated equipment from start to finish, she told The VRG that “it costs over one million dollars to buy equipment…there’s not a big enough market for vegan chocolate so chocolate makers run more than just vegan chocolate.” Diane told us that “I wish that vegans who complain about vegan purity issues would understand this.” A vegan herself for 16 years, Diane told The VRG that “95% of my customers are not vegan…they are people looking for high-quality chocolate.” “… “In this world we’re all trying to do the best we can.”

Allison’s Gourmet
Another hand-crafted, organic and fair trade vegan chocolatier, Allison Rivers Samson of Allison’s Gourmet http://www.allisonsgourmet.com/ echoed Diane’s frustration about the lack of vegan-dedicated equipment in her own way. She commented in 2012 at The VegNews Guide to Vegan Chocolate http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?pageId=4371&catId=2 that

“…there are currently no manufacturers of the raw materials for organic chocolate (chocolate liquor) that have 100% dairy-free facilities. So for us, a 100% vegan company, even though the manufacturer of the base of our organic chocolate flushes the machines with thousands of gallons of organic dairy-free chocolate, we still must say “may contain traces” on the label. While this may present some confusion, there are some people (especially children) who have life-threatening allergies to dairy. In those cases, we encourage people to err on the side of safety. Another reason to eliminate dairy in the world!”

“Hopefully someday soon, the demand will be high enough that there will be facilities that produce exclusively dairy-free organic chocolate in exclusively dairy-free factories.”

The VRG asked Allison in January 2016 if there are now any chocolate liquor manufacturers who operate vegan-dedicated equipment. She replied by email:

“Thank you for checking in on this. I wish there was progress. Unfortunately, there are still currently no dairy-free, organic chocolate liquor manufacturers.”

Vegan Chocolatier Cooperative
The VRG asked Diane of Divine Treasures if she thought it ever feasible that vegan chocolatiers would create a cooperative in which they collectively purchase and use the equipment keeping it 100% dairy-free. Diane replied

“I think if everyone used high-quality chocolate it could work… It’s coming… It may not be because of vegans but [as someone told me] because of the demand for dairy-free products by people who are allergic to dairy.”

Daren Hayes, founder of Stirs the Soul, is a chocolatier who makes his own organic and fair trade raw chocolate starting from stone-grounding raw cocoa beans all done on his own equipment. http://www.stirsthesoul.com/about.htm Daren agrees that a vegan chocolatier cooperative would be a great way to ensure the production of vegan chocolate on truly vegan-dedicated equipment and he would be interested in participating. (Note: All of Daren’s products are vegan except four flavors of one variety which contain honey.)

As consumer demand for vegan chocolate and other vegan products grows, it becomes more likely that one day there will be vegan businesses using their own exclusively dairy-free equipment. Mintel Group Ltd. market research suggests this in a late 2014 report: http://www.mintel.com/press-centre/food-and-drink/number-of-global-vegetarian-food-and-drink-product-launches-doubles-between-2009-and-2013

Specifically with respect to vegan chocolate this report revealed:

“…there has also been considerable growth in the number of chocolate and sugar confectionery products launched carrying a ‘vegetarian’ or ‘vegan’ claim. Whilst just 4% of chocolate or sugar products launched in 2009 carried a vegetarian claim, this rose to 9% in 2013. The proportion of these products launched with a vegan claim similarly rose from 1% in 2009 to 2% in 2013.
Further to this, the number of chocolate and sugar confectionery products using a glazing agent boasted even larger growth with 32% of these products carrying a ‘vegetarian’ or ‘vegan’ claim in 2013, up from 13% in 2009.”

“Among chocolate and sugar confectionery products there is increasingly demand for vegetarian ingredients, reflected by the increasing use of both vegetarian and vegan claims on new product launches. Ingredients will continue to be scrutinized by consumers and manufacturers need to be responsive and proactive to quell any consumer concerns,” concluded Laura Jones Mintel Global Food Science Analyst.

More on Cocoa Butter as a Dairy Sanitizer
Intrigued by the use of cocoa butter as a dairy sanitizer for equipment The VRG sought out more information. We discovered a patent application for this use: http://www.google.com/patents/WO2012167873A1?cl=en suggesting that cocoa butter cleaning of chocolate-making equipment occurs in industry.

The VRG spoke with Claus Davids of Koco, Inc. a supplier of processing and packaging systems specifically for the food, cocoa, confectionery and baking industries. Claus discussed the use of cocoa butter to clean equipment by describing it as “the go-to” substance to flush machinery runs during changeovers and referring to it as a common practice. He said cocoa butter flushing would require “large amounts” of cocoa butter and be a very time- and labor-intensive process. He thought it would be difficult to thoroughly clean the equipment because of all the piping connections in the equipment’s lines. He further cautioned by email:

“I’d like to note, for clarification here, that cocoa butter is not a miraculous cleaner for dairy or anything of that sort. It does not guarantee elimination of dairy, at least not that I know. The only way to guarantee 100% dairy-free chocolate is to have a dedicated line of equipment where dairy is not used. We see this in kosher facilities, where they will not even consider making milk chocolate because it is so hard to eliminate dairy from the machinery and pipework. I would be hesitant to trust any company that claims to be dairy-free… In order to do this, they would have to tear down every piece of machinery and hardware and clean it completely.”

The reason cocoa butter is used as a cleaner is that you cannot bring water into a chocolate making operation – it breeds bacteria and puts the entire line at risk for contamination.

Interested readers may find information on kosher concerns in chocolate production: http://www.ok.org/v1/Content.asp?ID=171

Daren the chocolatier from Stirs the Soul was also doubtful of cocoa butter as a dairy residue remover from chocolate equipment saying its effectiveness “is subject to the equipment and the kitchen.”

When The VRG asked Allison of Allison’s Gourmet if her chocolate supplier uses cocoa butter to run through potential dairy residue on equipment she replied

“Our chocolate supplier processes their chocolate liquor where it’s grown, thus Peru and Ecuador. As stated on our website, thousands of pounds of dairy-free chocolate are flushed though the machines after processing milk chocolate. This is our allergen statement about dairy, which appears on each page that contains chocolate:

“Due to the limited demand for 100% dairy-free organic chocolate, the raw ingredients for organic, fair-trade chocolate are processed on equipment also used to process milk chocolate. The machines are cleaned meticulously between runs, and thousands of pounds of dairy-free chocolate are flushed through the machines.”

“For safety and legality, we must state that there could be a chance that chocolate items may contain traces of dairy, even though dairy is never an intended ingredient.”

The contents of this posting, our website and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

For more ingredient information, see http://www.vrg.org/ingredients/index.php

To support The Vegetarian Resource Group research, join at http://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

Or Donate at www.vrg.org/donate