Salted Peanuts Aren't Always Vegan

Generally speaking, most vegan-friendly foods are easy to recognize, most products that contain animal products being fairly obvious. Vegans know to avoid certain products and to ready labels carefully, but every so often an item that seems unarguably vegan (like figs) slips through.

Some vegans and vegetarians might be shocked to find out that Planters Dry Roasted Peanuts are not in fact animal product free! Though many may assume that salt-roasted peanuts are made from two simple, vegan ingredients (salt and peanuts), it turns out that is not true. One perfunctory glance over the listed ingredients brings to light a shocking revelation. Listed among the spices, corn syrup, and maltodextrin is, very surprisingly, gelatin. This may come as quite a blow to any vegans who have, in the past, mindlessly reached out to grab a handful of peanuts, perhaps at a bar or someone's home, thinking they were getting a great animal-free source of protein.

You may be wondering why gelatin would ever be used in a product like roasted peanuts. The answer is quite simple. It is used as an adhesive, to ensure that all of the spices and flavorings used stick to the peanuts as effectively as possible. Luckily not all processed nuts have this deep, dark secret. A quick glance at the other Planters products reveals that their other products do contain the simple, vegan-friendly ingredients you would expect to find in nut products, no gelatin in sight. If you're still having doubts, or feel scarred for life, never fear — there are many options, like tasty nut butters and spreads, that have nothing to do with gelatin.