Is e428 vegan?

E428 is the European food additive code for gelatin, a protein used primarily as a gelling agent, stabilizer, and thickener. It is produced through the partial hydrolysis of collagen, which is extracted from the connective tissues, skin, and bones of slaughtered animals, most commonly pigs, cattle, and fish.

Food manufacturers use E428 in a wide variety of items, including gummy sweets, marshmallows, jelly desserts, mousses, yogurts, and cake frostings. It is also used as a fining agent to clarify fruit juices, beers, and wines, and it serves as the primary material for hard and soft pharmaceutical capsules.

This ingredient is not vegan because it is derived entirely from animal body parts. Plants do not produce collagen, meaning that true gelatin is always of animal origin. Plant-derived substitutes that mimic its texture, such as agar-agar or pectin, are distinct substances with their own separate additive codes.