Are Corn Pops Vegan?

I Gotta Have My Pops… But wait… Ever since going vegan, I haven’t actually checked: Are Corn Pops vegan? That’s what we will cover today!

Corn Pops are generally considered vegan. However, it does contain sugar and vitamin D3, which are gray-area ingredients that some vegans avoid. Chocolate Peanut Butter Corn Pops also contain “natural flavor,” which is another concerning ingredient to some vegans.

Keep reading for a clear explanation of each of these controversial ingredients in Corn Pops. By the end of this post, you’ll be able to make an informed decision about whether you’re okay with eating this cereal or not!

What Are Corn Pops Made Out Of?

Let’s start by taking a look at the full ingredients list for Corn Pops. I’ve bolded in red the ingredients that some vegans find problematic:

Kellogg’s Corn Pops Ingredients: “Milled corn, sugar, corn syrup, contains 2% or less of molasses, salt, vegetable oil (hydrogenated coconut, soybean and/or cottonseed), mixed tocopherols (vitamin E) for freshness, wheat flour, annatto extract color. Vitamins and Minerals: Reduced iron, niacinamide, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamin B1 (thiamin hydrochloride), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), folic acid, vitamin D3, vitamin B12.” (source)

Let’s take a look at these controversial ingredients:

• Sugar: Gray Area. Non-organic cane sugar is typically filtered with bone char to make it whiter. And you cannot tell just from reading the ingredients list whether bone char was used or not. Therefore, some vegans avoid “sugar” as an ingredient. But personally, I don’t worry about it.

• Vitamin D3: Gray Area. Vitamin D3 that’s added to cereal is typically sourced from lanolin, which is grease from sheep’s wool. So it is an animal ingredient. However, it’s used in very small quantities (it’s practically the last ingredient in Pops). So some vegans (like me) believe it’s okay to eat it anyway. Here’s a longer explanation of how I view this issue.

So, are Corn Pops considered vegan? It depends how strict you want to be. Personally, I’m a bit more on the relaxed side, so I’m fine with eating Pops. And most of my vegan friends are in that same category—they would be okay with all these ingredients.

Honestly, I don’t think it helps much to boycott a cereal for minor ingredients. Just boycott the main animal ingredients like milk, eggs, and meat (and maybe gelatin and honey). Then, if you want to help animals more, just support an activist organization. That’s what I recommend.

Do Corn Pops Contain Dairy?

Corn Pops do not contain milk, lactose, or any dairy ingredients. In fact, on my box of Corn Pops, it doesn’t even include a “traces of milk” or “may contain milk” warning. So, Corn Pops should truly be safe—even for those with a milk allergy or lactose intolerance.

Do Corn Pops Contain Gelatin?

Corn Pops does not contain gelatin. Typically, you will only find gelatin in cereal when there are marshmallows (e.g., Lucky Charms) or to hold frosting on the cereal (e.g., Frosted Mini-Wheats).

Are Chocolate Peanut Butter Corn Pops Vegan?

Chocolate Peanut Butter Corn Pops are generally considered vegan. However, they do include sugar, natural flavor, and vitamin D3, which are gray-area ingredients that some vegans avoid.

When it comes to “natural flavor,” it’s a gray-area ingredient for vegans because it’s legally allowed for companies to include animal ingredients as just “natural flavors.” But I’m not sure how likely that is in this particular cereal. I wouldn’t worry about it too much.

Here’s the full ingredients list:

Kellogg’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Corn Pops Ingredients: “Milled corn, sugar, peanut butter (peanuts, hydrogenated palm oil), corn syrup, dextrose, semisweet chocolate (sugar, chocolate, dextrose), vegetable oil (high oleic soybean, hydrogenated coconut, soybean and/or cottonseed), contains 2% or less of salt, molasses, natural flavor, mixed tocopherols (vitamin e) for freshness, annatto extract color, wheat starch. Vitamins and minerals: reduced iron, niacinamide, vitamin b6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamin b2 (riboflavin), vitamin b1 (thiamin hydrochloride), folic acid, vitamin d3, vitamin b12.” (source)

Are Corn Pops Jumbo Snax Vegan?

Corn Pops Jumbo Snax are generally considered vegan. However, they do include sugar, natural flavor, and vitamin D3, which are gray-area ingredients that some vegans avoid.

If you’re not familiar with Jumbo Snax, they’re like a supersize version of the cereal—the Pops are enlarged, and you generally eat them by hand.

Here’s the full ingredients list:

Corn Pops Jumbo Snax Ingredients: “Degerminated yellow corn meal, sugar, corn bran, brown sugar syrup, contains 2% or less of salt, natural flavor, wheat flour, bht for freshness. Vitamins and minerals: reduced iron, niacinamide, vitamin b6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamin b2 (riboflavin), vitamin b1 (thiamin hydrochloride), folic acid, vitamin d3, vitamin b12.” (source)

More Vegan Cereal Guides

I’ve been writing a bunch of guides about which breakfast cereals are vegan. Here are a few more that may be of interest to you:

• Kix Cereal
• Rice Krispies
• Chex Cereal
• Cheerios

Two More Recommendations for Your Plant-Based Journey

1. This is the best free video training I’ve found on plant-based nutrition. You’ll learn how to reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and obesity—all with plant-based food. Watch the free “Food for Health Masterclass” here.

2. This is the best vegan multivitamin I’ve found in my 14 years of being vegan. It has vitamin B12, vitamin D, omega-3—and nothing else. Translation: It only has the nutrients vegans are actually low in. Read my full review of Future Kind’s multivitamin here (with 10% discount).