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Most Starburst contain gelatin, which is not vegan. Gelatin is made from animal parts, including bones, tendons, and/or ligaments.
The mini Starburst don’t contain gelatin, but they contain other non-vegan ingredients, so unfortunately there are no vegan Starburst in the US.
It seems as though Starburst made in the UK do not contain gelatin, but always check the ingredients on the packaging. Even if you find Starburst without gelatin, they contain other potentially non-vegan ingredients as explained below.
Non-Vegan Ingredients in Starburst
Gelatin
Gelatin is made from parts of animals including skin, tendons, ligaments, and bones.
As mentioned, almost every Starburst product in the US contains gelatin. The mini Starburst and the Starburst Original Easter Jellybeans do not contain gelatin, but they contain other non-vegan ingredients.
Confectioner’s glaze
Confectioner’s glaze contains shellac, which is made from insect secretions. It is often used to give candies a smooth and shiny finish.
Confectioner’s glaze is found in the Starburst Minis, solidifying them as non-vegan despite not containing gelatin.
Beeswax
Beeswax is currently only found in the Starburst Original Easter Jellybeans. As beeswax comes from bees, it isn’t vegan.
This means that despite not containing gelatin, the jellybeans are not vegan.
Potentially Non-Vegan Ingredients in Starburst
Sugar
All Starburst products contain sugar, which may be filtered through bone char. Bone char is literally charred animal bones and is sometimes used to de-colorize cane sugar.
Most large companies have several sugar suppliers, some of which do filter their sugar through bone char. It is unclear if this is the case for Starburst, but either way their products are not vegan, so we don’t need to look into how their sugar is processed.
Natural flavors
Natural flavors can be derived from animals or plants. It is unclear what Starburst natural flavors are made from, but since other ingredients eliminate Starburst from being vegan, there is no need to figure this out.
Artificial colors
Artificial colors do not contain animal ingredients, but they are sometimes tested on animals. Some vegans are okay with this, while others avoid all products that contain artificial colors. It’s up to you.
Mono- and diglycerides
These can be either vegan or non-vegan, and again this is not disclosed by Starburst.
Non-Vegan Ingredients By Product
| Product name | Non-vegan and potentially non-vegan ingredients it contains |
| Starburst Original Fruit Chews Candy | Gelatin, sugar, natural flavors, artificial colors |
| Starburst Original Mini Fruit Chews Candy | Sugar, mono and diglycerides, confectioner’s glaze, natural flavors, artificial colors |
| Starburst Fave Reds Fruit Chews Candy | Gelatin, sugar, natural flavors, artificial colors |
| Starburst Fave Reds Mini Fruit Chews Candy | Sugar, mono and diglycerides, confectioner’s glaze, natural flavors, artificial colors |
| Starburst AllPink Chewy Candy | Gelatin, sugar, natural flavors, artificial colors |
| Starburst Airs Original Gummies | Gelatin, sugar, natural flavors, artificial colors |
| Starburst Sours Gummies Candy | Gelatin, sugar, natural flavors, artificial colors |
| Starburst Original Easter Jellybeans | Beeswax, sugar, natural flavors, artificial colors |
| Starburst Airs Sour Tropical Gummies | Gelatin, sugar, natural flavors, artificial colors |
Vegan Starburst Alternatives
YumEarth Chewys are the best vegan alternative to Starburst that I can find. There are other vegan chewy candies out there, but these ones from YumEarth are very similar to Starburst.
The shape, colors, and flavors are similar to the Starburst Original Fruit Chews.
Each bag of YumEarth Chewys contains individually wrapped chewy candies in 4 flavors:
- Cherry
- Strawberry
- Orange
- Lemon
Get them on the YumEarth website or from Amazon.
