"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 e517?
E517 is the European food additive code for ammonium sulfate, an inorganic salt used primarily as a dough conditioner, yeast nutrient, and acidity regulator. It is manufactured synthetically by reacting ammonia gas with sulfuric acid, though it can also be recovered as a byproduct of specific industrial chemical processes. Food manufacturers commonly list E517 in commercial baked goods, such as breads, buns, and flour mixes, to strengthen dough structure and feed yeast. It is also utilized in brewing and winemaking to support the fermentation process.
E517 is vegan because its production relies entirely on synthetic chemical synthesis and mineral sources. No animal tissues, animal-derived substances, or animal byproducts are used at any stage of its creation or refinement. Because it does not originate from animals and involves no animal inputs, ammonium sulfate is consistently 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.