Are emulsifiers, enzymes, and stablisers animal derived ingredients?
from a reader: Emulsifiers can be animal and enzymes can be animal (as well as plant). Enzymes can be also bacterial and fungal. I’ve never heard of stablisers. If a product specifically says that it’s enzymes or emulsifiers (or glycerides or natural flavors or stearic acids or…) are not derived from animal products, than you are in the clear. However, most likely the product will not list that it is derived from animals. My rules of thumb are* – if a brand specifies that an ingredient is not animal derived, than it is ok – if that same brand lists the same ingredient for a different product and does not specify that it is not animal derived, than it probably is – and if a brand never specifies that an ingredient is not animal derived, than it’s 50/50 (more like 20/80 because I would personally bet from my consumer experience that most ingredients that may come from an animal do come from an animal).
