Sometimes food trends come and go within months, but other times they create a fundamental change in how we live.

With over half the UK population adopting vegan-buying behaviours, Macphie believes that a diet free from animal derivatives is part of a long-term change in society.

The company produces a range of vegan products and took the decision to pursue full certification for our vegan product range.

Here, we offer some help in getting well-versed in veganism.

 

What is veganism?

Veganism is a way of living which seeks to exclude – as far as possible and practicable – all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose.

Vegans consume a plant-based diet, avoiding all food containing animals, such as meat (including fish, shellfish and insects), dairy, eggs, honey and gelatine.

They also exclude leather products and any product that has been tested on animals, in terms of foods, cosmetics, medicine etc.

Vegan-suitable

Vegan-suitable products have no animal-derived ingredients, so can be labelled as “suitable”. However, ingredients within a vegan-suitable product have not be thoroughly checked for cross contamination or animal testing.

Vegan-certified

Macphie vegan-certified products have been accredited by the Vegetarian Society.

The process involves independent ingredient checking by experts at the Vegetarian Society. The trademarks are only licensed to those products that meet the Vegetarian Society’s strict criteria, offering confidence to the consumer.

The Vegetarian Society’s criteria makes sure that vegan products do  not contain animal-derived ingredients, are free from genetically modified organisms (GMO-free) and have not been tested on animals.

Wherever you see the Vegetarian Society Approved vegan trademark displayed, you know that product is vegan.

We must highlight that customers using our vegan-certified products as ingredients cannot then state that their finished product is “vegan-certified”. The customer would have to seek their own certification to display the Vegetarian Society’s vegan-certified logo on their product.

You can find vegan recipes to provide some inspiration here.

Allergen labelling

Products which are either suitable for vegans or vegan-certified may not be suitable for people with allergies.

At Macphie, we take every practical step to ensure cross-contamination is kept to a minimum.  However, if there is a risk of cross-contamination, this will be explained within the product information document and the following statement will be displayed on product labels:

“In accordance with advice from our certification body (Vegetarian Society), whilst every practical step has been applied to remove allergens (soya, sulphites, egg, milk) that are also handled on this line, unavoidable trace elements may be present”

 

For information on all Macphie products, please contact your account manager or call customer services on 0800 085 8900.