Are Fruit Loops Vegan? Even the Cereals with ‘fruit’ in Their Name Are Seldom Vegan

are Fruit Loops vegan?

One of the most popular breakfast cereals amongst children, Kellogg’s Fruit Loops add joy to mornings. This delicious and colorful breakfast cereal is loved by both children and adults for its sweet taste and dreamy appearance. 

Treasure since decades, Fruit Loops have earned all our respects and loyalties, but are Fruit Loops vegan? 

This question arises every time new vegans start figuring out which favorite foods they can continue eating. Like every time, most answers are disappointing. This is because most manufacturers still use non-vegan ingredients for products that could easily be made with vegan constituents. 

What we mean to say is, your beloved Fruit Loops are not vegan. Although the word ‘fruit’ is a part of the name but it only refers to the sweet fruit-like taste. You hadn’t probably expected them to contain real fruits, but their attempt at adding real fruit nutrients into the cereal has led to the addition of many non-vegan ingredients. 

Are Fruit Loops Vegan?

No, Fruit Loops are not vegan as they contain vitamin D3, which is derived from animal products. Additionally, the cereal contains refined sugar, natural flavours and artificial coloring agents, which strict vegans avoid consuming.

If you have thoroughly read the ingredient list at the back of the packet of Fruit Loops, you’d notice several non-vegan ingredients you wouldn’t want in your diet. 

There are many non-vegan ingredients in Fruit Loops

fruit loops ingredients list

The basic ingredients of Fruit Loops are simple and do not raise alarms. These are corn flour blend, wheat flour, oat fiber, soluble corn fiber, and coconut and cottonseed oil. 

The major non-vegan ingredient in Fruit Loops is Vitamin D3. The other problematic ingredients are sugar, natural flavors, and artificial colorants

How is Vitamin D3 a non-vegan ingredient?

Vitamin D3 is quite unacceptable in a vegan diet. This is because of its sources of origin. It is entirely possible to obtain Vitamin D3 from plant-based sources. But most manufacturers obtain it from animal-based sources instead. 

The makers of Fruit Loops are no different. Their Vitamin D3 is obtained from lanolin, which is a product obtained from sheep’s wool. Lanolin is the greasy substance that is often extracted from sheep’s wool and is utilized for numerous processes. 

The problem lies with the removal of wool from the sheep. The exploitation of sheep for the harboring of wool is a cruel practice. The sheep are often skinned during the removal of wool, which causes them a lot of pain.

Many firms claim that their wool is obtained from dead sheep and hence no injuries occur to the living sheep. This is not true. This is as untrue as the hoax of ‘vegan wool’. 

The makers of vegan wool claim that they do not injure sheep while collecting wool from them. Our research has shown that this is only the ‘whitewashing’ of a cruel practice. 

Thousands of sheep suffer every day because of the intolerable pain caused when they are skinned while the wool is being removed. Voiceless animals may not speak, but they suffer a lot of pain due to cruel human practices and tendencies. 

It is the responsibility of vegans to avoid the usage of wool in all its forms. Be it sweaters knit out of sheep’s wool, or lanolin grease in oiling products, or Vitamin D3 fortification of breakfast cereals. 

It is surprising how a sweet and innocent appearing breakfast cereal could hide such grave agony backstage. 

fruit loops

Why are some vegans against the consumption of processed sugar?

Strict vegans are usually against the consumption of processed sugar. The main reason for this avoidance is the use of bone char in sugar producing factories. 

Bone char is a product of cruelty to animals and is produced by the high-temperature combustion of animal bones. Animals like cattle and pigs are sacrificed for the production of this substance. Although many mills claim to use dead animal bodies for obtaining bones, it may or may not be true in all cases.

Looking at the great injustices prevalent against animals today, we can expect it of such factories to commit grave cruelties to animals. 

Bone char is used in sugar factories to bleach and whiten cane sugar. Cane sugar is brownish in coloration in its raw form. Bone char is a porous and absorbent substance. Passing the raw cane sugar through bone char renders it the pristine white coloration that is more desirable. 

Although particles of bone char are not passed into the refined and filtered cane sugar, vegans are against the use of this process in the production of sugar. 

Bone char is used to filter half of the sugar in the United States. More vegan techniques, such as granular activated charcoal, are utilized to filter the other half. This substance is just as absorbent as bone char and poses no threat to animal lives.

There are two types of sugar – the sugar that is filtered by bone char, and the sugar that is acceptable on a vegan diet. However, it is impossible to tell which products use which type of sugar. This makes it difficult for vegans to know which products are safe for them to eat.

Avoiding sugar altogether may not be the best solution, as we don’t always know if the sugar we consume is filtered with bone char or not. Assumptions can be made, but we can’t be sure. Therefore, it’s best to check with the manufacturer beforehand.

Fruit Loops contain a high quantity of sugar which may not even be healthy for consumption. You should avoid Fruit Loops for the presence of Vitamin D3 and in case you want to cut down on sugar. However, it’s not necessary to reject a food item purely because it has sugar in it.

How are the artificial colorants in Fruit Loops problematic?

fruit loops cereals

Fruit Loops contain artificial colorants that impart them the vibrant and joyous vibe. But all these colors are not so joyous behind the curtains. The dark reality of artificial colorants will open your eyes

Fruit Loops contain artificial colors such as Yellow 6, Blue 1, and Red 40. None of these is indeed obtained from animal-based sources. Blue 6 is produced artificially in the lab or extracted from strawberries. 

Yellow 6 is obtained from petroleum. Let me make it clear, Red 40 and Red 4 are different. Red 4 is the color obtained from crushed insects such as beetles. Based on its animal origin, it is straightaway rejected by vegans. Red 40 is obtained from petroleum. 

Although none of these colors are obtained from animals, all of them are tested on animals in laboratories. This is done to determine their safety for human consumption. 

The toxic and safe doses of these colors are ascertained after conducting controlled tests on animals in which the poor animals are fed these substances at different doses. If a product or a particular dosage of a product is toxic, the animal either dies or suffers from adverse effects. 

The animals that survive with adverse effects of these substances are not given treatment. They are treated just like specimens in a lab. Poor animals like monkeys, dogs, rats, and rabbits suffer intolerable pain and discomfort because of this cruel treatment. 

It is important that vegans boycott products that indulge in and promote animal cruelty. Artificial colorants are not only unethical, they also dangerously affect human health. 

Some of these artificial colors have been proven to cause heart disease in adults and ADHD in children. They have been banned in some countries for the same reason. 

There are sufficient plant-based colors to suit all requirements of these manufacturers but they seldom make use of the sustainable resources. 

How are natural flavors problematic? 

While natural flavors do not sound problematic, they are a hidden playground of problems. The FDA has clarified on numerous occasions that natural flavors can be derived from all edible sources, be it animal or plant-based. 

This is the reason some vegans always want to scrutinize the natural flavors to the end. Many fruit-like and plant-like flavors are obtained from sources far from plants. 

While the process of obtaining natural flavors may at times be problematic, it is still a minor factor with minor impact.

Avoiding substances like natural flavors may create more chaos than misery. Vegans must avoid the foods and products that are perfectly non-vegan. This includes meat, eggs, and dairy products. Avoiding smaller substances like natural flavors will not create as much impact. 

The Cascadian Farms Organic Fruitful-O’s are the perfect alternative to Fruit Loops 

Cascadian Farm Organic Fruitful O's Cereal 10.2 oz

Although the Fruitful O’s are slightly different in texture, they are a perfect vegan replacement for the non-vegan Fruit Loops. They do not contain Vitamin D3 although the controversial non-vegan ingredients may still be present. Nevertheless, they are a great vegan alternative. 

So are Fruit Loops Vegan? 

No. Fruit Loops are not vegan. It is up to you if you want to make an exception for your favorite breakfast cereal, but Fruit Loops contain Vitamin D3 and artificial coloring agents that are unacceptable to vegans. 

Joe became a vegan after watching Cowspiracy. He always knew something was off with the way we consume animal products, but watching the documentary made him realized how bad it actually is. Joe is now making sure that every product he buys is 100% vegan!