"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 e270 lactic acid?
E270 is the European food additive code for lactic acid, an organic acid used as an acidity regulator, preservative, and flavoring agent. Despite its name resembling dairy terms, commercial lactic acid is almost universally manufactured through the bacterial fermentation of carbohydrate-rich plant sources, including corn starch, sugar beets, and sugarcane molasses. It can also be produced through chemical synthesis from petrochemical feedstocks. This additive is commonly found in packaged goods such as pickled vegetables, sourdough bread, confectionery, carbonated beverages, canned foods, and dressings.
E270 lactic acid is vegan because its industrial production relies on plant sugars, microbial fermentation, or synthetic methods rather than animal sources. While lactic acid was historically isolated from sour milk, modern commercial manufacturers do not use dairy or animal byproducts due to high costs and extraction inefficiencies. As a result, E270 lactic acid contains no animal-derived ingredients and is suitable for a vegan diet.
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.