Are Froot Loops Vegan?

Did you know that all colors of Froot Loops actually taste the same? They’re not actually different flavors. Yeah, sorry—your whole childhood was a lie… But now let’s get to the matter of today’s post: Are Froot Loops vegan?

Froot Loops are generally considered vegan. However, they do contain sugar, natural flavor, artificial colors, and vitamin D3, which are all gray-area ingredients that some vegans avoid. Also, in some countries, they contain carmine, a red dye made from crushed beetles.

Below, we’ll dig into the specific ingredients found in Froot Loops. We’ll start by focusing on U.S. Froot Loops. Then I’ll cover some other countries after that, as the ingredients are actually quite a bit different!

What Are Froot Loops Made Of?

Let’s start with a look at the ingredients for Froot Loops in the U.S. (I’ll cover other countries below.) Then we’ll discuss some takeaways. There are no blatant meat, dairy, or egg products in Froot Loops. But I’ve marked seven ingredients in red, which some vegans avoid:

Ingredients: “Corn flour blend (whole grain yellow corn flour, degerminated yellow corn flour), sugar, wheat flour, whole grain oat flour, modified food starch, contains 2% or less of vegetable oil (hydrogenated coconut, soybean and/or cottonseed), oat fiber, maltodextrin, salt, soluble corn fiber, natural flavor, red 40, yellow 5, blue 1, yellow 6, BHT for freshness. Vitamins and Minerals: Vitamin C (ascorbic acid), reduced iron, niacinamide, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B1 (thiamin hydrochloride), folic acid, vitamin D3, vitamin B12.” (source)

Now let’s discuss each of these ingredients and why some vegans avoid them:

• Sugar: Gray Area. Sugar is controversial for many vegans. Why? Most non-organic cane sugar gets filtered with bone char from cattle to make it whiter. Some vegans avoid it—others are okay with it. (Personally, I’m okay with sugar.)

• Natural Flavor: Gray Area. “Natural flavors” can legally include animal ingredients (source). That said, the suspected natural flavors in Froot Loops would be stuff like limes and other fruit—not animal ingredients.

• Artificial Colors: Gray Area. Artificial colors are made synthetically from petroleum, not animals. However, they are routinely tested on animals due to safety concerns. So some vegans avoid them. I’ve written about each color in Froot Loops separately: Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1, Yellow 6.

• Vitamin D3: Gray Area. Vitamin D3 can be made from vegan sources like lichen, but it’s usually taken from lanolin (from sheep’s wool). However, since it’s used in small quantities, many vegans (including me) don’t worry about it. Read more on my personal opinion in this blog post.

So, do you count these ingredients as “vegan” or not? It depends how strict you want to be. Personally, I’m a bit more on the relaxed side, and I’m fine with eating Froot Loops. But why?

Why I Consider Froot Loops Vegan

In my opinion, Froot Loops are close enough to vegan. If you boycott Froot Loops due to minor ingredients like vitamin D3 or red 40, will Kellogg’s even notice or care? Probably not.

So my philosophy is this: Boycott the main animal ingredients. Then, if you want to do more to help animals, donate or do activism. Froot Loops doesn’t contain any actual major animal ingredients like milk, eggs, or meat. That’s good enough for me.

Are Froot Loops Dairy Free?

Froot Loops are dairy free. Based on the box I have on hand, it doesn’t even list milk as a possible trace ingredient (“may contain milk“). So Froot Loops should be totally okay for those with milk allergies, lactose intolerance, or any aversion to milk.

Do Froot Loops Have Gelatin?

Froot Loops does not contain gelatin. However, it should be noted that Froot Loops With Marshmallows does contain gelatin.

More Froot Loops Flavors and Products

Regular Froot Loops aren’t the only option available. You can also get Froot Loops With Marshmallows, Tropical Froot Loops, and more. Are these vegan?

Are Froot Loops With Marshmallows Vegan?

Froot Loops With Marshmallows is not vegan, as it contains gelatin, which is made from animal skins, joints, bones, and the like. It also contains gray area ingredients for vegans, such as sugar and vitamin D3.

Anytime you see a product containing marshmallows, it’s pretty safe to assume that it’s not vegan. Marshmallows are pretty much always made with gelatin, unless they are specifically sold as “vegan marshmallows.” Here are the full ingredients for Froot Loops With Marshmallows.

Are Tropical Froot Loops Vegan?

Tropical Froot Loops are generally considered vegan. However, they contain sugar, natural flavor, artificial colors, and vitamin D3, which are all gray area ingredients for vegans.

Really, the ingredients for Tropical Froot Loops are almost exactly the same as normal Froot Loops. So if you consider one vegan, the other would be, too.

Are Froot Loops Vegan in Australia?

The Australian version of Froot Loops are typically not considered vegan, as they contain carmine, a natural food coloring made from crushed up beetles. They also contain sugar, which is a gray area ingredient that some vegans avoid.

Now, some people would argue that Froot Loops are healthier in Australia and New Zealand. They contain natural colors, rather than artificial colors, which have been tied to all kinds of possible health issues. But from a vegan perspective, these Aussie Froot Loops are arguably worse.

Instead of just getting Red 40 in U.S. Froot Loops, which is tested on animals but is at least synthetically made, you have carmine in Australian and New Zealand Froot Loops, which is actually made from dead beetles. Yuck.

You’ll notice that Australian Froot Loops don’t have vitamin D3 like most other versions of Froot Loops do, however:

“Froot Loops Ingredients (Australia): Cereals (58%) (cornmeal, wheat flour, oatmeal), sugar, vegetable oil, salt, colours (paprika, carmine, turmeric, vegetable carbon, copper chlorophyll), dextrose, vitamins (vitamin C, niacin, riboflavin, thiamin, folate), minerals (iron, zinc oxide), natural flavours (orange, lemon, raspberry, cherry, lime).” (source)

Are Froot Loops Vegan in Canada?

The Canadian version of Froot Loops is generally considered vegan. However, it contains sugar, natural flavor, and vitamin D3, which are gray-area ingredients that some vegans avoid.

Canadian Froot Loops have natural colors, but they don’t fall into the same non-vegan trap of Australian Froot Loops using carmine. The colors all come from plant sources:

Froot Loops Ingredients (Canada): “Sugar, Whole Grain Corn Flour, Wheat Flour, Whole Grain Oat Flour, Corn Bran, Maltodextrin, Oat Hull Fibre, Hydrogenated Coconut And Vegetable Oil, Salt, Colour (Fruit And Vegetable Juice Concentrate, Anthocyanin, Annatto, Turmeric), Natural Flavour. Vitamins And Minerals: Iron, Niacinamide, Zinc Oxide, Thiamine Hydrochloride, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid.” (source)

Are Unicorn Froot Loops Vegan?

Unicorn Froot Loops are generally considered vegan in the United States, but the Australian recipe contains carmine, which is made from beetles. Both versions also contain gray area ingredients, such as sugar, and vitamin D3 in the U.S version.

Really, the ingredients for Unicorn Froot Loops (a.k.a. Kellogg’s Unicorn Cereal) are very similar to normal Froot Loops. And so, generally speaking, its vegan status depends upon your view of those same gray-area ingredients.

For example:

• The U.S. recipe for Unicorn Froot Loops contains sugar, natural flavor, artificial colors, and vitamin D3. (source)

• The New Zealand recipe for Unicorn Froot Loops contains carmine and sugar. (source)

Two More Recommendations for Your Plant-Based Journey

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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).