Cotton candy is considered a vegan product, since it’s made from just two main ingredients: sugar and food coloring. The only exception is when the cotton candy is made with red food coloring called carmine, which is derived from crushed beetles.
What Is Cotton Candy Made Of?
Cotton candy is surprisingly simple. It’s made up of just two main ingredients:
1) Sugar: The core component of cotton candy is nothing more than granulated sugar, which is melted and spun into fine threads.
2) Food Coloring: To give cotton candy its signature vibrant colors, food dyes are added.
Given these basic ingredients, cotton candy appears to be an ideal vegan treat, but there are a few details to explore when it comes to sugar and food dyes.
Is Sugar Vegan?
Sugar is plant-based, as it comes from either sugarcane or sugar beets. So, at its core, sugar is vegan. However, the process used to refine sugar can sometimes involve animal products, specifically bone char. Bone char is a type of charcoal made from animal bones, and it is sometimes used in sugar refining to make the sugar whiter. While this process is not used for all sugar, it is still common enough to raise concerns for strict vegans.
What About Food Coloring and Dyes?
The bright pinks, blues, and purples that make cotton candy so iconic come from food coloring, which can sometimes be tricky for vegans. Most of the time, the food coloring used in cotton candy is synthetic, meaning it’s created from chemicals, not animal products, making it vegan-friendly. However, there are natural dyes that vegans should avoid, the most notable being carmine.
Carmine, also known as cochineal, is a red dye made from crushed cochineal insects. Caramine is present in many red and pink food products, and obviously isn’t vegan do to what it’s derived from. Thankfully, carmine is not typically used in cotton candy, which tends to rely on synthetic dyes for its vibrant colors.
What Is Most Common?
Most commercial cotton candy uses synthetic dyes like Red 40, Yellow 5, and Blue 1, all of which are derived from petroleum or coal tar and contain no animal products. These dyes are widely considered vegan, though some vegans avoid them due to animal testing concerns.
If you want to be sure your cotton candy is free of animal-derived dyes, check with the manufacturer or opt for brands that explicitly label their products as vegan-friendly.
