Are Airheads Vegan?

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Airheads are a tart, taffy-like, elastic candy made by the Dutch-Italian business Perfetti Van Melle in a range of fruity flavors.

Cherry, blue raspberry, watermelon, green apple, strawberry, white mystery, orange, grape, strawberry-watermelon, mango-chile, blue raspberry-cherry, and 14 other flavors are sold across the United States. Airheads are also produced in a variety of colors and styles.

Airheads Bars, Airheads Bites, Airheads Soft Filled Bites, Airheads Gummies, Airheads Gum, Airheads Xtremes, Airheads Xtremes Biters, and Airheads Xtremes Sourfuls are the original Airheads products.

Are Airheads Vegan?

Airheads are available in both vegan and non-vegan varieties

As a result, if you’re curious about which kinds are vegan and which ones aren’t, feel free to keep reviewing this article.

Airheads Bars

We see that the Airheads Bars are theoretically appropriate for vegans based on the list of components below, which was supplied by the Airheads.com website.

Even while you can pick out a few dubious substances that stringent vegans deliberately avoid, you don’t have any animal-based ingredients.

Ingredients for Airheads Bars

Artificial Flavors, Artificial Colors (Red 40, Blue 1, Yellow 6, Yellow 5), Corn Syrup, Citric Acid, Dextrose, Maltodextrin, Modified Food Starch (Corn), Palm Oil, Sugar, Water. [Source]

Airheads Bites

Bites from Airheads aren’t vegan.

Beeswax and Shellac are two non-vegan substances. Beeswax is wax produced by worker bees in beehives, as the name implies.

Shellac, on the other hand, is a resin produced by female lac bugs in India and Thailand’s jungles. It’s commonly used as a food coloring, glaze, and finish for wood.

Ingredients for Airheads Bite

Artificial Flavors, Artificial Colors (Red 40, Blue 1, Yellow 6, Yellow 5), Beeswax, Carnauba Wax, Citric Acid, Dextrose, Gellan Gum, Glucose Syrup, Glycerine, Hydrogenated Coconut Oil, Maltodextrin, Modified Corn Starch, Rice Starch, Shellac, Sorbitol, Sugar, Sucrose Esters of Fatty Acids. [Source]

Soft Filled Bites by Airheads

Despite the absence of beeswax or shellac, Airheads Soft Filled Bites are not vegan.

These Airheads, however, include gelatin instead of those substances.

If you’re unfamiliar with gelatin, it’s a protein made from the skin, tendons, ligaments, and bones of cows or pigs that have been cooked. Gelatin is often used as a thickening in fruit gelatins and puddings, as well as in shampoos, face masks, and other cosmetics.

The Airheads Soft Filled Bites also include problematic substances such as artificial flavors, colors, palm oil, and gelatin.

Ingredients in Airheads Soft Filled Bites

Artificial Flavors, Artificial Colors (Red 40, Blue 1, Yellow 6, Yellow 5), Citric Acid, Coconut Oil, Corn Starch, Dextrose, Food Starch – Modified (Corn), Food Starch – Modified (Potato), Fumaric Acid, Gelatin, Glycerin, Glucose Syrup, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Hydrogenated Palm Oil, Lactic Acid, Malic Acid, Salt, Sorbitol Syrup, Sugar, Trisodium Citrate. [Source]

Gummies by Airheads

Airheads Gummies are another non-vegan product.

It includes materials like gelatin and beeswax, much to everyone’s disappointment.

That isn’t all, though. Sugar, artificial flavors, and various artificial colors are among the components in these gummies.

Ingredients in Airheads Gummies

Artificial Flavors, Artificial Colors (Red 40, Blue 1, Yellow 6, Yellow 5), Beeswax, Carnauba Wax, Citric Acid, Coconut Oil, Corn Syrup, Gelatin, Pectin, Sodium Citrate, Sorbitol, Sugar. [Source]

Gum by Airheads

Blue raspberry, cherry, watermelon, and white mystery are the four flavors available in the Airheads gum. Just one of these four tastes is labeled vegan.

The sole flavor of Airheads Gum that is vegan is “White Mystery.” Carmine is present in the other flavors, despite the fact that they do not contain any obvious animal-based components.

Carmine is a crimson culinary color made from the corpses of cochineal beetles that have been dried, crushed, and then boiled.

Apart from carmine, Airheads Gum contains many problematic chemicals, including artificial flavors and colors.

Ingredients in Airheads Gum

Acesulfame K, Artificial Flavors, Aspartame, Sorbitol, BHT to Maintain Freshness, Blue 1 Lake, Carrageenan, Chewing Gum Base, Citric Acid, Coconut Fat, Color (Carmines), Glycerol, Lecithin (Soy), Maltitol Syrup, Malic Acid, Sucralose, Sucrose Fatty Acid Esters, Tartaric Acid, Xylitol. [Source]

Xtremes by Airheads

Since there are no animal-derived components in Airhead Xtremes, they are vegan.

Airheads Xtremes Ingredients

Artificial Flavors, Artificial Colors (Red 40, Blue 1, Yellow 6, Yellow 5), Citric Acid, Corn Syrup, Food Starch – Modified (Corn), Food Starch – Modified (Potato), High Fructose Corn Syrup, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Malic Acid, Potassium Citrate, Salt, Sugar, Wheat Flour. [Source]

Xtremes Bites by Airheads

The Xtremes Bites, like the Airheads Xtremes, come in only one taste: Rainbow Berry.

The Xtremes Bites, unlike the Airheads Xtremes, are not vegan.

Ingredients in Airheads Xtremes Bites

Artificial Flavors, Citric Acid, Colors Added (Carmine, Blue 1), Corn Syrup, Corn Starch, Food Starch – Modified (Corn), Food Starch – Modified (Potato), High Fructose Corn Syrup, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Malic Acid, Palm Oil, Potassium Citrate, Salt, Sugar, Wheat Starch. [Source]

Xtremes Sourfuls by Airheads

Thus far, the one and only vegan option is the Airheads Xtremes -the one I’ve listed first. Regrettably, this will continue to be the case.

Because the Airheads Xtremes Sourfuls include gelatin, they are not vegan.

Ingredients in Airheads Xtremes Sourfuls

Artificial Flavors, Artificial Colors (Red 40, Blue 1, Yellow 6, Yellow 5), Citric Acid, Coconut Oil, Corn Syrup, Dextrose, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Starch, Food Starch – Modified (Corn), Food Starch – Modified (Potato), Fumaric Acid, Gelatin, Hydrogenated Palm Oil, Lactic Acid, Malic Acid, Salt, Glycerol, Sodium Malates, Sorbitol Syrup, Sugar, Trisodium Citrate,  Wheat Starch. [Source]

Conclusion

Only ordinary Airheads Bars and Airheads Xtreams are vegan-friendly candies, according to our research.