"You are amazing, this has saved me so much time when grocery shopping!"
— Austin, a user who reached out with feedback
"It's been a great tool since starting my journey! You take a pic of the nutrition/ingredients, and it'll warn you of anything questionable or not vegan. 😁"
— Ashe, a Vegan For Beginners Facebook Group member
"Use a vegan app when you go shopping, I use WhatsVegan."
— Dóra, a Vegan For Beginners Facebook Group member
Learn more
"You are amazing, this has saved me so much time when grocery shopping!"
— Austin, a user who reached out with feedback
"It's been a great tool since starting my journey! You take a pic of the nutrition/ingredients, and it'll warn you of anything questionable or not vegan. 😁"
— Ashe, a Vegan For Beginners Facebook Group member
"Use a vegan app when you go shopping, I use WhatsVegan."
— Dóra, a Vegan For Beginners Facebook Group member
So, what is benzophenone-4?
Benzophenone-4 is a synthetic chemical compound used primarily as an ultraviolet filter and light stabilizer to prevent color and fragrance degradation from sun exposure. It is manufactured industrially through chemical synthesis, typically by reacting resorcinol derivatives with benzoyl chloride followed by sulfonation, using petroleum-derived chemical feedstocks. While most frequently found in cosmetics, hair care formulas, and sunscreens, it may also appear on labels for personal care goods or transparent packaging materials designed to protect light-sensitive contents from photo-oxidation.
This ingredient is vegan because it is purely synthetic in origin. The raw materials used in its industrial production come from petrochemical and mineral sources, and the manufacturing process does not require animal-derived catalysts, enzymes, or processing aids. Because no animal tissues or animal-derived byproducts are involved at any point in its synthesis, benzophenone-4 is suitable for vegans.
We've built a vegan ingredients scanner that classifies food ingredients as "vegan", "non-vegan", or "potentially vegan".
It allows you to avoid non-vegan ingredients - just take a picture of a product's ingredient list, and the app tells you if the product is vegan or not.