Vegan Certification Labels

Have you ever wondered if the products you are using are actually truly vegan? Navigating the world of vegan products can be tricky. There has been a massive growth of vegan symbols on packaging, tied to the surge in sales of meat-free foods and vegan products over the last several years. Several vegan nonprofit organizations have presented these symbols for use on packaged food products, beauty and health products, clothing, and more. To certify a product as " Vegan Certified," the product must meet strict guidelines. Not only must it contain no content derived from animals, but, depending on the certifying organization, it must also be from a company that guarantees they are cruelty-free.

Many private companies have also developed their own vegan icons for their own labels. Within the United States, the term "vegan" is not regulated any government entity, which means individual companies can label a product vegan, even if it may produce the product in a manner that doesn't meet the definition of vegan.  Legally, a company may not have to disclose that an ingredient or a machine was in contact with animal-based substances during the production process. 

Vegan nonprofit organizations are trying to give consumers a valid, well defined way of determining whether the food they are buying is, in fact, vegan. These certification organizations are striving to ensure a trustworthy and efficient approach to validating food and other products are vegan. 

The certification programs that are available are there to provide a more universal, trusted source for determining whether a product is vegan. The certifications these organizations tend to fall into the stricter definition of vegan ensuring that no animal testing has been done on any part of the item, including the machines used to make it. They also provide more in-depth scrutiny, with varying levels between the associations. 

In a poll taken in 2018, Gallup states that "Sales of plant-based food grew 8.1% in 2017 alone and exceeded $3.1 billion last year, and plant-based alternatives to dairy products are soon expected to account for 40% of dairy beverage sales. Increased sales of plant-based foods...likely indicates a greater overall interest in these products." 

As the life choice to be vegan continues to become more prominent, the need for vegan certification of products is something that is going to keep growing. The organizations that are striving to make the available options easier to choose from are going to have a big impact on the future of the industry, and on the individual practitioners.