QUESTION: I’m a vegan and I want to know if I should be taking a daily multivitamin supplement.

VRG Nutrition Advisor Reed Mangels, PhD, RD, answers this question in her Nutrition Hotline column in the latest issue of Vegetarian Journal. Her response to this question starts off with:

As a vegan, you should be able to meet your needs for most nutrients from foods. Eating a variety of whole plant foods is a good practice, both because it’s a simple way to get needed nutrients and because of the other benefits that go along with a plant-based diet. That said, there may be occasional days when your food choices aren’t ideal; using a multivitamin/mineral supplement on those days can be better than nothing. Of course, supplements don’t take the place of a healthy diet.

To read the rest of this column, see:
http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2016issue3/2016_issue3_nutrition_hotline.php

To subscribe to Vegetarian Journal, visit:
http://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

Myths about vitamin B12 abound. For example, there’s the myth that sources of vitamin B12 include everything from rainwater to potatoes. In truth, reliable sources of vitamin B12 for vegans are foods fortified with this vitamin (for example soymilk, breakfast cereals, meat substitutes, etc. — read the label) and supplements. That’s it. You can read more about vitamin B12 sources on The Vegetarian Resource Group website: http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/b12.php

Then there’s the whole question of absorption. Getting vitamin B12 into our bodies in a form so that it can be used is much more complicated than just drinking a glass of fortified soymilk. Of course, we’re not aware of all of the steps, but it is quite a process. It’s actually simplest for vitamin B12 that is not bound with protein. This would be the case for vegan sources of the vitamin. In contrast, sources from animals like meat, fish, dairy products, and eggs have even more steps to go through, since in these products, vitamin B12 has to be released from food protein before it can be absorbed.

Let’s say that you take a multi-vitamin that contains vitamin B12. In the stomach, and possibly to some extent in the mouth, the multi-vitamin is digested so that the binders that hold the different kinds of vitamins together dissolve. Vitamin B12 is now able to connect up with a special protein, called R protein, which our body makes and which is found in saliva and in the digestive juices in our stomach. The R factor-vitamin B12 complex leaves the stomach and moves into the first part of the small intestines. There, enzymes make the pancreas digest the R protein so that vitamin B12 is able to connect to intrinsic factor, a substance made by cells in our stomach. Vitamin B12 has to be connected to intrinsic factor to keep the vitamin from being destroyed by enzymes in the small intestine. Once the intrinsic factor-vitamin B12 complex gets to the ileum (the last part of the small intestine), it is absorbed into the blood, vitamin B12 is released from the intrinsic factor and connected to a protein that transports it in the blood (1-3). The same process would take place whether you’re getting vitamin B12 from a multi-vitamin, a fortified food, or a vitamin B12 supplement.

Sublingual vitamin B12 supplements are on the market. These can be taken in sublingual form (allowed to dissolve under the tongue). This can be a way to get vitamin B12 into the body without having to go through all the steps described above. However, sublingual vitamin B12 does not seem to be more effective than oral vitamin B12 (4).

References

1. Medeiros DM, Wildman REC. Advanced Human Nutrition, 3rd edition. Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning, 2015.

2. National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. Vitamin B12 Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB12-HealthProfessional/ 2016.

3. Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Vitamin B12, Pantothenic Acid, Biotin, and Choline. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1998.

4. Yazaki Y, Chow G, Mattie M. A single-center, double-blinded, randomized controlled study to evaluate the relative efficacy of sublingual and oral vitamin B-complex administration in reducing total serum homocysteine levels. J Altern Complement Med 2006;12:881-5.

If you’d like to read more about vitamin B12, try these websites:

Jack Norris, RD’s excellent webpage – Vitamin B12 – Are You Getting It?

NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. Vitamin B12 Fact Sheet for Consumers

Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center. Vitamin B12

By Christiana Rutkowski

The book Vegetarian Sports Nutrition by D. Enette Larson-Meyer is a comprehensive, well-explained, easy to follow book about eating a vegetarian or entirely vegandiet while participating in athletics, ranging from an elite athlete to a recreational jogger.

This book, 230 pages in length, breaks down common misconceptions and misunderstandings about not consuming meat, dairy, eggs, and other products made from or coming from animals. The book includes many concrete scientific facts, evidence, and easy to understand knowledge to explain to readers just how easy it is to thrive and compete while eating a diet free from many or all animal products.

The best part about this book for me was its inclusion of many different ways to calculate an individual’s caloric needs as well as each individual macronutrient amount appropriate for their own lifestyle. I think something that often happens with athletes is that they underestimate how many calories they need, which can result in issues like low iron, other vitamin deficiencies, inadequate energy, and overall performing or training less than their best.

Not only does this book give basic concepts for consuming a diet rich in plant-based foods, but it also breaks down each contributing factor, providing many pages for each macronutrient (fat, protein, and carbohydrates), bone health, individual vitamins and minerals, physical ailments like muscle cramps and inflammation (and how to combat both), supplements (and whether one should or should not take them), and how to come up with and customize a meal plan based on unique one’s own unique lifestyle and physical activity.

Another difficult area for many that decide to embark on a more plant-based or entirely vegan diet is figuring out what to eat (and how much). Larson-Meyer provides the reader with an endless amount of dietary choices that give a wide variety of foods to make it possible to consume plenty of each macro and micronutrient, while keeping the choices exciting, tasty, and also very easy to attain and/or prepare.

Lastly, what makes this book very interesting is its appeal to not just individuals looking to eat plant-based, but its specific focus for athletes looking to train and compete while refraining from eating animal products. Personally, I feel one of the most important things about transitioning to a more (or completely) vegan diet is educating oneself on the knowledge and science behind it. Especially as an athlete, it is critical to get enough calories coming from a variety of plant-based sources, and this book provides a ton of information and useful knowledge to the reader.

To order Vegetarian Sports Nutrition, go to:
http://www.vrg.org/bookstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=79

By Riccardo Racicot, MS

“Study finds that Vegetarians are Mutant” (1)
“Vegetarian Diet May Alter Human DNA, Raising Cancer, Heart Disease Risks” (2)
“Being a Vegetarian Could Kill You, Science Warns.” (3)

These sensational headlines are based on new research published for advanced access in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution by a research group from Cornell University (4). As a molecular biologist and nutrition researcher I was skeptical about these claims and was eager to learn more about the study. What I found was a fantastic study with exciting findings in need of no embellishment.

This new research focused on the omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid, arachidonic acid. Arachidonic acid plays many roles in the human body and is a main constituent of cell membranes. Dietary sources of arachidonic acid include meat, fish, poultry, and eggs. Unlike most omega-6 fatty acids, which are usually consumed in our diet as vegetable oils, arachidonic acid is not found in plants. However, humans are able to convert a precursor found in plants, another omega-6 fatty acid, known as linoleic acid into arachidonic acid. In their study, Kumar Kothapalli and his colleagues at Cornell University found that some people are more efficient at this conversion than others (4).

The reason: Genetics.
To gain a better understanding of the findings of this research I spoke directly with Dr. Kothapalli. According to Kothapalli, the study demonstrated that a population which has been practicing vegetarianism for many generations actively produce more of a particular enzyme known as fatty acid desaturase, which is responsible for converting linoleic acid to arachidonic acid.

Initially, the researchers found different versions of the fatty acid desaturase gene in a Japanese population. In some people they found a small section of DNA to be deleted in this gene. Since we have two copies of each gene, this allows for 3 different variations; those with both copies intact (I/I), those which have one copy with the section deleted (I/D) and those which have both copies with the section deleted (D/D). They found those with both copies intact (I/I) had significantly higher amounts of fatty acid desaturase, indicating they would be more efficient at converting the plant-based linoleic acid to arachidonic acid than those with both sections of the gene deleted (D/D) (4).

Kothapalli and his colleagues then determined how often each variation occurs using human DNA samples. The DNA samples were taken from a population in Pune, India who are primarily vegetarian and have been vegetarian for many generations. Their DNA samples were compared with samples from the United States. The analysis found the I/I variation occurred in 68% of the Indian population and only in 18% of the United States population (4). The researchers then used global genetic data to determine how frequently the variants occur world-wide. Globally, the I/I variation was found in of 70% of South Asians, 53% of Africans, 29% of East Asians, and 17% of Europeans (4).

To confirm that the I/I variation did in fact lead to increased conversion of linoleic acid to arachidonic acid, the researchers performed biochemical tests on human samples. As they predicted, arachidonic acid levels were 8% higher in I/I individuals than D/D (4). The activity of the enzyme was also shown to be higher in the I/I group, with 31% greater conversion of linoleic to arachidonic acid than the D/D group (4).

Overall, what this study truly shows is that over generations, populations who eat predominantly vegetarian diets (that usually include dairy products but not eggs) have adapted to low intakes of arachidonic acid by becoming more efficient at producing arachidonic acid. So, why did these results garner the sensational headlines?

To understand this, we need to take a look at the current hypothesis of how different types of unsaturated fats affect our health. The best model we have today is the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio. This ratio is used to compare the balance of different types of unsaturated fats in our diets.

According to some, the types of fats we eat have changed dramatically over the past 150 years. These researchers believe humans evolved eating foods such as lean meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, and nuts, resulting in a dietary fatty acid ratio of 1:1 omega-6 to omega-3 (5). Today the intake ratio for the general population has tilted heavily in favor of omega-6 fatty acids to 15:1 (5). This is largely due to the increased availability of seed oils such as soy, corn, and cottonseed and inexpensive grain-fed meats. For vegetarians and vegans this ratio may be even higher because their diets often contain few omega-3 fatty acids. For example, the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA are mainly found in cold-water fatty fish.

The relatively higher intake of omega-6 fatty acids is believed by some researchers to result in inflammation and pro-inflammatory diseases like heart disease and colon cancer (6, 7). The science on omega-3 fatty acids seems to be pretty clear; they are anti-inflammatory. However, when it comes to the omega-6 fatty acids, specifically arachidonic acid, the science appears to be more complicated. Arachidonic acid itself is a precursor to both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory molecules (8). This connection between omega-6 fatty acids and pro-inflammatory diseases misled some journalists to believe higher arachidonic acid production in those with the I/I variation would make them be at higher risk for those diseases. In reality, vegetarians tend to have lower risks for these chronic diseases (9).

For now, the hypothesis that the dietary omega-6 to omega-3 ratio is relevant for health seems to fall into the realm of expert opinion rather than that of sound scientific findings. Historical fatty acid ratio findings are based on extrapolations from a handful of anthropological nutrition studies and observations on wild animals. The data suggesting a high omega-6 to omega-3 ratio is harmful come from small studies with few participants, cell culture studies, and epidemiological observations.

Skepticism surrounding these findings seems justified when considering the breadth of data suggesting omega-6 intake is associated with decreased risk of heart disease. Over the past few decades, randomized trials, case-control and cohort studies, and long-term animal feeding experiments have all demonstrated a decreased risk of heart disease for those eating 5-10% of calories from omega-6 fatty acids when compared to eating lower amounts (10). In line with these findings, a 2009 science advisory from the American Heart Association, “recommends that people aim for at least 5 percent to 10 percent of calories from omega-6 fatty acids.” (10).

Kothapalli, however, is a firm believer of the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio hypothesis. When asked about the implication of the study for those eating a vegetarian diet he responded: “If they are eating a vegetarian diet they should balance the omega-3s and omega-6s in their diet. Don’t eat more omega-6 from…vegetable oils. They need to balance between omega-6 and omega-3, then they will be okay.”

To gain a better perspective on the extensive amount of variable findings, I met with leading expert on all things fat-related, Dr. Eric Decker, Head of the Department of Food Science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His answer was rather simple: the data are largely inconclusive with the exception that the general population is not currently consuming enough long chain omega-3 fatty acids on average here in the United States. Regardless who you are, vegetarian, vegan, omnivore, you should be eating more long chain omega-3s.

The US Dietary Guidelines suggest consuming the equivalent amount of DHA and EPA from 2 servings of fatty fish per week, which works out to be about 250 milligrams of EPA and DHA per day (11). On average, Americans consume 63 mg of DHA and 23 mg of EPA per day (12). In vegetarians and vegans these intake levels are even lower and sometimes even nonexistent. Vegan dietary sources of DHA and EPA are limited to sea vegetables, fortified foods, and supplements. Microalgae-derived DHA is vegan and widely available in supplement form. Sea vegetables have been growing in popularity in recent years as they are sustainable and provide EPA. A list of DHA and EPA sources can be found below:

Source: Sanchez-Machado DI, Lopez-Hernandez J, Paseiro-Losada P, Lopez-Cervantes J. Fatty acids, total lipid, protein and ash contents of processed edible seaweeds. Food Chem. 2004;85:439-444 and manufacturers’ information.

Unfortunately, as with most nutrition related inquiries, there is no definitive answer as of yet. The beauty of this study is that it brings us one step closer to better answers. As of now we are reliant on unreliable data for our information. With the advent of the fields of nutrigenetics (the study of the effects of dietary patterns on genetics over time) and nutrigenomics (the study of the effects of nutrient intake on gene expression) we are becoming ever closer to making personalized dietary recommendations.

For now, I am able to leave you with three definitive takeaways from this article:
1) Being a vegetarian will not change your genes
2) Being a vegetarian will not kill you
3) Eat more omega-3 fatty acids

Citations:
1. Hamaker P. Study finds that vegetarians are mutants. http://www.examiner.com/article/study-finds-that-vegetarians-are-mutants. Published March 29, 2016. Accessed May 21 2016.
2. Pascual K. Vegetarian diet may alter human DNA, raising cancer, heart disease risks. TechTimes website. http://www.techtimes.com/articles/145561/20160331/vegetarian-diet-may-alter-human-dna-raising-cancer-heart-disease-risks.htm. Published March 31, 2016. Accessed May 21 2016.
3. Li DK. Being a vegetarian could kill you, science warns. New York Post website. http://nypost.com/2016/03/30/being-a-vegetarian-could-kill-you-science-warns/. Published March 31, 2016. Accessed May 21 2016.
4. Kothapalli K, Ye K, Gadgil M, et al. Positive selection on a regulatory insertion-deletion polymorphism in FADS2 influences apparent endogenous synthesis of arachidonic acid. Mol Biol Evol 2016;March 29 pii: msw049. [Epub ahead of print]
5. Simopoulos A. Evolutionary aspects of diet, the omega-6/omega-3 ratio and genetic variation: nutritional implications for chronic diseases. Biomed Pharmac 2006; Nov;60 (9):502-7.
6. Ramsden C, Zamora D, Leelarthaepin B, et al. Use of dietary linoleic acid for secondary prevention of coronary heart disease and death: evaluation of recovered data from the Sydney Diet Heart Study and updated meta-analysis. BMJ 2013; 346:e8707.
7. Simopoulos A. The Importance of the omega-6/omega-3 fatty acid ratio in cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases. Exp Biol Med 2008;23:674-688.
8. Needleman P, Truk J, Jakschik B, Morrison A, Lefkowith J. Arachidonic acid metabolism. Annu Rev Biochem 1986;55:69-102.
9. Craig WJ, Mangels AR. Position of The American Dietetic Association: Vegetarian diets. J Am Diet Assoc. 2009;109:1266-82.
10. Harris W, Mozaffarian D, Rimm E, et al. Omega-6 fatty acids and risk for cardiovascular disease: A Science Advisory from the American Heart Association Nutrition Subcommittee of the Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Metabolism; Council on Cardiovascular Nursing; and Council on Epidemiology and Prevention. Circulation 2009;119:902-907.
11. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture. 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 8th Edition. December 2015. http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/
12. Papanikolaou Y, Brooks J, Reider C, Fulgoni VL. U.S. adults are not meeting recommended levels for fish and omega-3 fatty acid intake: results of an analysis using observational data from NHANES 2003-2008. Nutr J. 2014;Apr 2;13:31.

Riccardo Racicot recently graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a master’s degree in Molecular Biology.

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

Alternate Names: calcium octadecanoate; octadecanoic acid, calcium salt; stearic acid, calcium salt; calcium distearate; E470a

Commercial Source: mineral-plant

Used in: dry mixes, spices, salt, snack foods, confections, pastries, chewing gum, yeast, dietary supplements

Used as: anti-caking agent, binder, emulsifier, lubricant, release agent, flavoring additive, stabilizer, thickener

Definition: Calcium stearate formed from a reaction between a calcium-containing compound and either a stearate-containing compound or stearic acid is often used as an anti-caking agent in food or as a release agent or lubricant in pharmaceuticals and confections. Many non-food industries such as personal care, construction and paper also use calcium stearate.

Manufacturers:

http://www.acme-hardesty.com/product/calcium-stearate/

Email reply: “Our vegetable-based calcium…stearate is made from palm oil.” Phone response: Food grade vegetable-based calcium stearate is “typically the industry standard” today.

http://www2.mallinckrodt.com/active_pharmaceutical_ingredients/stearates/

(vegetable source listed by clicking on number to the left of chemical name under list titled “Stearate Products”)

http://www.standardprocess.com/FAQ

http://www.peter-greven.de/en/products-applications/applications/food-additives/

http://www.silverfernchemical.com/products/calcium-stearate/

Silver Fern told The VRG on the phone that “…the standard today is vegetable-based [stearates] especially for food use.”

http://www.seidlerchem.com/calcium-stearate.htm

A Seidler Chemical employee told The VRG that “in all of the pharmaceutical industry no one wants tallow-based calcium stearate…I haven’t received a call for [tallow-based calcium stearate] in years for pharmaceuticals or food.”

http://www.brenntagspecialties.com/en/pages/Markets_IndustriesServed/Food/Stearates/index.html

Looking at sales data from 2007 to the present, a Brenntag Specialties employee said that “almost all” or “a big majority” of all calcium stearate sold was vegetable-based although they do carry a food grade, tallow-based calcium stearate.

http://www.brenntagnortheast.com/en/pages/Products/Complete_List/index.html#C

A Brenntag NE employee told The VRG that a food-grade, tallow-based calcium stearate “is not sold anymore…”

http://www.pentamfg.com/search (enter “calcium stearate”; click on Dietary Statement PDF in the bottom right corner for a vegan declaration)

An employee emailed The VRG that their calcium stearate has “no animal involved.”

http://www.sifengbio.com/proen/typeid/4.html

An employee emailed The VRG that “…our food grade calcium stearate is from plant fat, not animal fat.”

http://www.specialitychemicalmanufacturers.com/calcium-stearate-1288714.html#inq

This Indian company sells food grade calcium stearate derived from “edible tallow.”

http://www.prathamstearchem.com/calcium_stearate.html

Additional Information:

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2011-title21-vol3/pdf/CFR-2011-title21-vol3-sec184-1229.pdf

http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/GRAS/SCOGS/ucm261238.htm

http://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/15324#section=Top

http://www.vrg.org/vrgnews/2013oct_1.php#s14

http://www.google.com/patents/EP1499197A2?cl=en

(paragraph 12 in section titled Description and throughout section titled Materials and Methods)

Classification: Vegan* Although it is possible to derive calcium stearate from animal fats, it is not standard practice today in the food industry and no examples of tallow-derived calcium stearate in foods or pharmaceuticals are known.

Entry Updated: August 2015

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

To support The Vegetarian Resource Group research, donate at
http://www.vrg.org/member/donate_buttons.php

Join at http://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.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 judgement about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

By Jeanne Yacoubou

Alternate Names: magnesium octadecanoate; octadecanoic acid, magnesium salt; stearic acid, magnesium salt; magnesium distearate; E470b, E572

Commercial Source: mineral-plant
Used in: dietary supplements, pharmaceuticals

Used as: lubricant, binder, flow agent, release agent, anti-caking agent

Definition: Magnesium stearate formed by the reaction of a magnesium-containing compound and either a stearate-containing compound or stearic acid is most often used as a release agent or lubricant in pharmaceuticals and supplements. There are many non-food uses of magnesium stearate including personal care products, plastics and rubber.

Manufacturers:

http://www.acme-hardesty.com/product/magnesium-stearate/

“Our vegetable-based… magnesium stearate is made from palm oil.”

http://www2.mallinckrodt.com/active_pharmaceutical_ingredients/stearates/

(vegetable source listed by clicking on number to the left of chemical name under list titled “Stearate Products”)

http://www.peter-greven.de/en/products-applications/applications/food-additives/

http://www.silverfernchemical.com/products/magnesium-stearate/

Silver Fern told The VRG that “…the standard today is vegetable-based [stearates] especially for food use.”

http://www.brenntagspecialties.com/en/pages/Markets_IndustriesServed/Food/Stearates/index.html

Their magnesium stearate is vegetable oil-based.

Additional Information:

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2011-title21-vol3/pdf/CFR-2011-title21-vol3-sec184-1440.pdf

http://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/11177

http://www.mdpi.com/2075-4442/2/1/21/htm

http://www.xlear.com/spry-dental-defense/xylitol-products/adults/natural-breath-mints/

Spry Gems Xylitol Mints told The VRG that their magnesium stearate is derived from “coconut oil.”

https://www.cocoavia.com/recipes/ingredients-nutritional-information

Cocoavia told The VRG that the magnesium stearate in their vegetarian capsules is derived from “plant sources.”

http://www.vrg.org/vrgnews/2013oct_1.php#s14

http://www.google.com/patents/EP1499197A2?cl=en

(paragraph 12 in Description and throughout Materials and Methods)

Classification: Vegan* Although it is possible to derive magnesium stearate from animal fats, it is not standard practice today in the food industry and no examples of tallow-derived magnesium stearate in foods or pharmaceuticals are known.

Entry Updated: August 2015

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

To support The Vegetarian Resource Group research, donate at: http://www.vrg.org/member/donate_buttons.php

Join at: http://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.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 judgement about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

Introduction

Calcium stearate is an anticaking agent used in a wide variety of foods including salt, spices, confections, snack products and dry mixes. The VRG noticed while doing a Spring 2015 update on stearic acid and its derivatives that several websites and books list calcium stearate as being primarily derived from cows or pigs. When we discovered from food ingredient manufacturers and suppliers that most calcium stearate used today in food products is from vegetable oils, we decided to check food labels and contact food companies to confirm if the calcium stearate present today in foods was indeed mostly or even solely vegetable-derived.

To accomplish this, we made extensive use of the Internet for locating edible products containing calcium stearate. Google® images of nutrition and supplement labels listed thousands of mostly pharmaceutical products. We went through the pages excluding supplements and any foods containing meat and/or dairy.

An immediate observation we made while searching for calcium stearate-containing foods was that very few products today contain calcium stearate unlike twenty years ago when it was more common. There are many substitute ingredients available today to take its place in foods such as silicon dioxide. (Calcium stearate, magnesium stearate as well as stearic acid are more commonly included today in dietary supplements and pharmaceuticals serving as binders or lubricants. Recent VRG research on the latter two ingredients also shows that for food and drug uses today, magnesium stearate and stearic acid are vegetable-derived in all cases we could find.)

Here is a list of food products containing calcium stearate. In every case, The VRG was told by company employees in May-July 2015 that their calcium stearate was vegetable-derived. Below the list are more details from the phone conversations and email exchanges we had while researching each product. (We’ve included Tums® products here because they are commonly used.)

Foods That Contain Vegan Calcium Stearate

Glutino’s® Strawberry Breakfast Bars

Dutch Foods® Baked Potato Crisps (ketchup flavor), Salt-n-Vinegar Chips, Rip-L Chips

Rainy Day Foods® Applesauce

Lawry’s® Asian Ginger, Garlic & Chile Rub

Fiesta Spices® products

Cookies Food Products® Flavor Enhancer & All-Purpose Seasoning

Also Salt®

Sencha Naturals® Green Tea Mints

IceChips® Candy

Barkley’s® mints

Smarties® candy

Tum’s®

Food Products

The VRG discovered that Tastefully Simple® sells a dry mix called Jalapeño Popper Warm Dip Mix containing calcium stearate but was unable to find out ingredient source information from the website.

We were told on the phone by one company representative that “we need a doctor’s note before our vendor will release source information.” When we replied that our ingredient inquiry was based on ethical reasons as vegans and not any specific health reasons, the representative only repeated her company’s policy about receiving a doctor’s note before any ingredient information beyond what is on a label could be given to consumers.

The Glutino consumer response team initially replied by email that the calcium stearate in their Strawberry Breakfast Bars “is sourced from apple powder.” The VRG found this response puzzling given that neither calcium nor stearic acid (from which calcium stearate is formed) is typically derived from apples on a commercial basis nor are they major constituents of apples. We asked Glutino to check with their food technologists to confirm.

A few days later The VRG received a call and an email from Glutino apologizing for their error. They wrote:

The calcium stearate used in our Glutino Breakfast Bars is [from] a vegetable source. Since it can be a combination of vegetable oils, we do not have the specific ingredient, but it is definitely a plant-based ingredient. So sorry for any confusion in our previous answer.

In early July 2015 The VRG noticed that calcium stearate was no longer listed in the ingredients statement for the bars (Source).

Some Dutch Foods snack products contain calcium stearate including the Baked Potato Crisps (ketchup flavor), Salt ‘n Vinegar Chips and Rip-L Potato Chips.

We called them and were informed on the phone that the “calcium stearate in all products containing calcium stearate is vegetable-derived from corn or canola.”

Rainy Day Foods sells an applesauce that has calcium stearate listed on its ingredient label. A Rainy Day Foods employee contacted their supplier, Tree Top®, who sent a Vegan/Vegetarian Statement about this product:

Dried apples, formulated fruit preps, fruit purees and concentrates are made from wholesome fruit, and do not contain any dairy or animal products. These products are suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

No beef or animal by-products are used in the processing or production of these products.

Spices and Salt

We contacted McCormick’s about their Lawry’s Asian Ginger, Garlic & Chile Rub.

When we initially wrote to them through their website contact form we received this email response from a consumer affairs specialist:

The calcium stearate in our Lawry’s Asian Ginger, Garlic and Chile Rub is used as an anti-caking agent used for free flowing. It is an additive that makes ingredients blend well together. The main sources it would be derived from are mineral, vegetable or animal.

When we asked if the natural flavors in this product were animal-derived we received this response:

I am sorry, but that information is proprietary. Please be advised this product is not considered vegan. Natural flavors are flavors extracted from natural sources – from the rind, juice, leaves, roots or bark of fruits, herbs and spices. The term natural flavor or natural flavoring means the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractives.

The VRG called McCormick’s for clarification and more information. We spoke with one other consumer affairs specialist on two occasions. During those conversations we learned that there were three different suppliers for the calcium stearate in Lawry’s Asian Ginger, Garlic & Chile Rub. All three had been contacted about their ingredient source. We were informed by email that Lawry’s Asian Ginger, Garlic & Chile Rub contains no animal products and the calcium stearate listed on the ingredient statement is vegetable- based.

The Food Safety Manager at Bolner’s Fiesta Products® responded to our request for information about the calcium stearate in several of their products. He assured us on the phone that the calcium stearate in their products was derived “from a vegetable source.” The VRG asked if he knew which vegetable source was used. The Food Safety Manager checked with his supplier and called us back within minutes to inform us that their “calcium stearate is derived from palm oil.” He also asked if we’d like a complete list and so assembled the following for us:

Brisket Rub

Carne Guisada

Chili Mix

All of the Fajita Seasonings

Game Fish Seasoning

Garlic Salt

Garlic Pepper

Jerky Seasoning

Lemon Pepper (both salt and NS)

Meat Tenderizer

Onion Salt

Pico de Gallo Con Limon

Spanish Rice

Texas Style Steak

Seasoning Salt

Season-it-All

Chipotle Hamburger

The Food Safety Manager of Fiesta Products added: “Many of our blended items will have calcium stearate or silicon dioxide to be used to help prevent clumping.”

Cookies Food Products Flavor Enhancer & All-Purpose Seasoning contains calcium stearate. We called Cookies about their ingredient source and an employee followed up by email: “Just received word that the calcium stearate is from a vegetable source.”

The salt substitute Also Salt contains calcium stearate. We received an email reply to our inquiry about its source and were informed it’s a “plant source.”

Confections

Sencha Naturals sells Green Tea Mints containing calcium stearate. We requested source information by email and received this reply:

Our calcium stearate in our green tea mints is not from an animal source. Our calcium stearate is plant-based and our mints are vegan.

The VRG spoke with a representative of Ice Chips Candy about the calcium stearate in their products. Initially we were told that their calcium stearate was “…from a local winery…a by-product of grape processing.”

Doubtful that calcium stearate came from wine processing, The VRG requested that Ice Chips contact the winery for confirmation that it was the calcium stearate that was derived from wine processing and not something such as tartaric acid or cream of tartar which may be derived from wine processing.

We received this email reply from Ice Chips:

I just spoke with one of the Grannies that formulated the Ice Chips.

I apologize for giving you incorrect information, but the calcium stearate is not a product of wine-making (that would be the cream of tartar).

She did not have the exact source we get those from handy, but did assure me that both ingredients have been tested and checked, and are completely vegan. That’s actually something that the FDA allowed us to keep on our tins after double checking our sources.

There are “natural flavors” listed on the Ice Candy tins. The same company representative informed us by email that …all of our flavors are plant-based. We do list “vegan” on every flavor except the three that contain milk.

All of our flavor concentrates/oils are made specially for us by Nature’s Flavors®.

Barkley’s Mints is the only product The VRG has seen thus far on the market that explicitly states the source of the calcium stearate used in their products on the product label. In parentheses after “calcium stearate” appears “vegetable based.”

Smarties candy contains calcium stearate. On the company website there is a vegan declaration:

Smarties ingredients contain no animal products…Our Smarties products are entirely free of meat, fish, dairy and eggs. You can rest assured that the calcium stearate is plant derived, and that no animal products were used in the processing of our candy’s ingredients…

There are some products with the Smarties brand that are not manufactured by Smarties Candy Company. We recommend always checking a product’s ingredients prior to purchase. Additionally, if the UPC number on the packaging begins with “0 11206”, you can be assured that the product is vegan and manufactured in a facility that makes solely vegan products.

Supplements

Many Tums products contain either calcium stearate or magnesium stearate. We spoke with a product specialist who informed us that there are “no animal derivatives in Tums…magnesium stearate and calcium stearate are not of animal origin…”

Here is a list of Tums products containing calcium or magnesium stearate:

Tums Freshers – cool mint and spearmint flavors

Tums Extra Strength Sugar-Free

Tums Smoothies – assorted fruit; assorted tropical fruit; berry fushion; peppermint flavors

Tums Kids

Tums’ product specialist pointed out that one Tums product contains a dairy ingredient: Tums Chewy Delights. This is stated on labels.

Conclusion

This list of foods containing calcium stearate is probably not exhaustive. It is representative of the types of food products that calcium stearate could be found in today. Since The VRG could not find even one animal-derived calcium stearate-containing food product and considering what ingredient manufacturers and suppliers had told us, we consider this a vegan ingredient noted with the caveat that although it is theoretically possible that calcium stearate for food use could be derived from lard or tallow, it is not so on a commercial basis in 2015. For more discussion and support of this classification see: http://www.vrg.org/blog/2015/05/06/anti-caking-agents-including-calcium-and-magnesium-stearate-non-animal-according-to-us-industry/

Animal fat-based calcium stearate does have wide applications in several non-food related industries today including the cosmetics, plastics & rubber, paint & coatings, construction and paper industries although some companies have expressed concern over the safety of animal-derived ingredients.

For a historical overview: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/np/alwayssomethingnew/Animal32.pdf

For more recent information:

http://www.genengnews.com/gen-articles/animal-derived-agents-in-disposable-systems/1090/

http://www.doverchem.com/Portals/0/Stearate%20BSE-TSE%20Statement.pdf (Dover’s site concerns non-food uses only.)

http://www.peter-greven.de/en/food-additives/

http://www2.mallinckrodt.com/active_pharmaceutical_ingredients/stearates/ (ingredient source listed by clicking on number before chemical name under list titled “Stearates Products”)

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.

To support The Vegetarian Resource Group research, donate at:
http://www.vrg.org/member/donate_buttons.php
Join at: http://www.vrg.org/party/index.php

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS, RD

The VRG received a question from an online reader about anti-caking agents. These are food additives that prevent ingredients from clumping together by absorbing moisture or oils/fats or by sealing ingredients against either water or oil. Citing silicon dioxide a very common anti-caking agent sourced from minerals the inquirer asked us why The The Vegetarian Resource Group’s Food Ingredients Guide states that anti-caking agents “may be non-vegetarian.”

Introduction

“Anti-caking agent” is a general class of compounds with a specific function in foods. Thus they are also known as “functional ingredients.” They are sourced from many different materials. New ones are developed by the chemical industry, approved for food use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and then introduced to the market. It is difficult if not impossible to generate an exhaustive list of all anti-caking agents and survey all companies manufacturing all of them. So we have focused on the most common examples and especially those that may have been derived from animal sources.

Calcium stearate and magnesium stearate may be used as anti-caking agents. (Herein referred to as “stearate compounds” or “stearates”: chemicals with a portion derived from stearic acid which could be animal fat- or vegetable oil-derived). Among all of the anti-caking agents commonly used today, only stearates possibly may have an animal origin.

Industry Sources

Acme-Hardesty® a supplier of calcium and magnesium stearates told The VRG on the phone in March 2015 that today “Food grade kosher [FGK] stearates are derived from vegetable oils…the industry standard.” When we asked whether all food grade kosher stearates are vegetable oil-based, we were told “Yes.” Acme-Hardesty wrote to us that “Our vegetable-based calcium and magnesium stearates are made from palm oil.”

However, not all food grade stearates must be kosher since the kosher designation is not FDA-mandated for foods. So the theoretical possibility remains that calcium or magnesium stearate, stearic acid and all related compounds used in foods could be derived from animal fats such as lard or tallow. Acme-Hardesty wrote to us that

“We do not give any of our tallow products the “FGK” designation, although a number of them do meet the FDA 21 Code of Federal Regulations requirements to be an indirect food additive.”

Employees of Brenntag Northeast, Inc.® a large distributor of stearates to the food industry told us that:

“…it appears that most of the food grade stearates are vegetable-based now. Ten years ago our suppliers sold some tallow-based but our suppliers are vegetable-based now. The tallow-based seems now to be selling into industrial applications.We identify if our products are tallow based in the product name.”

When we asked Brenntag Northeast what they thought was the percentage of animal-sourced stearates used today in the US food industry, we received by email in April 2015 this ratio of vegetable- to animal fat-based stearates:

“…I’m betting the ratio is 10:1 vegetable [oil] to tallow. No one wants tallow in foods these days.”

An employee at another Brenntag division, Brenntag Specialties, Inc.,® told us while reviewing sales data since 2007 that “almost all…[or] a large majority” of the calcium stearate they sold was vegetable-based and that only their vegetable-based stearates received kosher designation. As a raw ingredient supplier, Brenntag told us that they could not know the end products their calcium stearate was used to create or even know definitively that it was purchased to make food products.

The VRG heard this view echoed by some other company representatives. Clients may purchase food-grade products for non-food applications such as personal care products. We asked a few companies if they had any data on this point but all declined to provide any claiming client confidentiality.

Several other chemical companies spoke to us in Spring 2015 about calcium stearate production. We learned from Seidler Chemical Company that sells mainly to the pharmaceutical industry that “no one wants tallow anymore…I haven’t gotten a call for it in years.”

An employee in technical support at EMD Millipore told The VRG that they “do not sell tallow-based calcium stearate…all is from vegetable oils.”

A technical services manager at the Penta Manufacturing Company told us that their food-grade calcium stearate is “synthetic” with “no animals involved.” (product search code number for calcium stearate: 03-02900). Available on the calcium stearate page are links to PDF documents which state that the calcium stearate is suitable for vegans.

An account manager at Graham Chemical Company wrote to us that he had not “sold or stocked” calcium stearate for a food application “in some time.” However he said that:

“From what I understand, the tallow-based material is generally only being used in industrial applications due, in some part, to the ‘Mad Cow’ disease scare some years back. I know that calcium stearate in use for tableting in the nutraceutical markets (supplements, vitamins, etc.) has almost exclusively been vegetable-based for quite some time.”

Huzhou Sifeng Biochem Co. Ltd. told us that their food grade calcium stearate “…is from plant fat not animal fat.”

An employee of Huzhou City Linghu Xinwang Chemical Co., Ltd. wrote to us that “We only produce…stearate [compounds] of vegetable origin.”

A marketing officer of FoodChem International Corporation in China told us that “Yes, we sell food grade calcium stearate from animal fat.”

An Indian company Forbes Pharmaceuticals states on its website that their food-grade calcium stearate is derived from “edible tallow.” Forbes describes its function in foods as a “conditioning agent.”

The FDA specifies only “edible sources” as the source of calcium stearate given Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status for food use, implying that lard or tallow could be used as its source.

With the exception of two foreign companies, chemical companies in the United States in 2015 use vegetable oils (such as palm oil) as a starting material to make stearate compounds.

VRG’s Ingredient Classification Scheme

When The Vegetarian Resource Group’s Food Ingredients Guide was first published in 1997, animal sources of stearate compounds used in foods were common. Ingredient suppliers told us so at that time. However, over the past few years several food ingredients suppliers and manufacturers have told The VRG that a general trend regarding ingredient sources is that whenever possible non-animal sources are preferred. A major reason for this preference is lack of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) or avian influenza threats that many consumers associate with animal ingredients.

In 1997, because of stearates, The VRG had initially given anti-caking agents the “May Be Non-Vegetarian” classification. In light of current information about stearates, The VRG is now changing the classification for anti-caking agents to “Vegan*.” The asterisk alerts consumers that the theoretical possibility exists that calcium or magnesium stearate could be derived from animal sources but practically speaking on a commercial scale in 2015 in the United States we have not found this to be the case. With the possible exception of stearate compounds, all other major anti-caking agents used today are non-animal derived. Most are derived from petrochemicals and/or minerals.

Stearate Labeling

The source of calcium stearate (and all related compounds derived from stearic acid) will most often not be stated on a food label especially given the fact that none of its possible sources is a major allergen that must be declared on a food label according to the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) of 2004.

Interested consumers must contact food companies to find out the source of calcium stearate in food products. If a consumer has difficulty obtaining this information from a particular company, determining whether the food product is kosher may be an indirect way to infer information about calcium stearate. If it’s kosher, the calcium stearate in the food product is most likely derived from vegetable sources.

The VRG has noticed that these days many food companies and fast food chains indicate their sources of ingredients in parentheses after the ingredient on a label especially for ingredients which could have multiple sources. A notable example is “natural flavors.” Increasing consumer awareness and greater numbers of people asking food companies more questions about their ingredients contribute to greater corporate transparency. This higher degree of labeling precision was not evident twenty or more years ago.

For the first time, we recently found a label which specifies that the calcium stearate is vegetable-based: http://www.barkleys.ca/mints/

Smarties® candy has a vegan statement on its website regarding its source of calcium stearate: http://www.smarties.com/product/vegan/

Subway® Canada (but not Subway US) lists calcium stearate in its Honey Oat Bread. Consumer service representatives told us by phone and email that their source is “plant-derived.”

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 judgement about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

For information about other ingredients, see: http://www.vrg.org/ingredients/index.php

To support The Vegetarian Resource Group research, donate at: www.vrg.org/donate

Join at: http://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

Alternative names: phosphatidylcholine, partially hydrolyzed lecithin, E322

Naturally present in: liver, egg yolks, soybeans, wheat germ

Commercial Source: vegetable (soy, sunflower, canola seeds)

Used in: instant products, beverages, margarine and spreads, baked goods, snacks, salad dressings, chocolate, confections, protein shakes, dietary supplements, pharmaceutical and personal care products

Used as: emulsifier, dispersing agent, surfactant, release agent

Definition: A group of compounds of varying chemical composition depending on the source, lecithin mixes well with a wide variety of other food ingredients thereby serving multiple functions in foods and making it one of the most widely used food ingredients. Dietary lecithin is a primary source of the essential nutrient choline, important for cell membrane integrity and nerve signaling. Lecithin is also important in many industries including paint and plastics.

Manufacturers:

ADM wrote that “ADM soy lecithin products do not contain animal products or by-products and are suitable for vegetarians and vegans…The process that produces our soy lecithins does not employ enzymes nor cow bone filters.”

American Lecithin Company told us by phone that all of their food-use lecithins are vegetable-derived; “our egg lecithins are used in pharmaceuticals.”

Cargill Foods

Danisco

Additional Information:

http://www.ilps.org/files/Download/Forms/The%20Changing%20World%20of%20Lecithins%20-INFORM%204-2014.pdf

http://www.phospholipid-institute.com/en/literature

Although the FDA approved krill-derived lecithin for food use, the company which filed the petition told us by phone that they “sell krill oil, not lecithin from krill.” (Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4).

Classification: Vegan (for food use)

Entry updated: March 2015

For information on other ingredients, see: http://www.vrg.org/ingredients/index.php

To support The Vegetarian Resource Group research, donate at: http://vrg.org/donate

To Join The Vegetarian Resource Group, go to: http://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.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 judgement about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

Issue 3 2014 of The Vegetarian Journal is now available online!

Enjoy articles such as:

Vegan Cooking Tips — What to Do With All Those Tomatoes

Nutrition Hotline — What do you think about choline supplements for pregnant or going-to-be pregnant vegans?

Vegan Mexican Meal Plan — Including Recipes for Taco Salad, Baked Bean Quesadillas, Tamale Corn Pie, Zucchini with Rice Soup, and Tofu Sour Cream

To subscribe to Vegetarian Journal go to: http://www.vrg.org/catalog/ and click on Vegetarian Journal.