"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 laureth-4?
Laureth-4 is a synthetic nonionic surfactant and emulsifying agent formed by the ethoxylation of lauryl alcohol with ethylene oxide. The number four refers to the average number of repeating ethylene oxide units in the chemical molecule. Lauryl alcohol is obtained either from plant fats, particularly coconut oil or palm kernel oil, or through synthetic petrochemical processes. Ethylene oxide is derived synthetically from petroleum. While predominantly used in cosmetics and personal care products like shampoos and lotions, laureth-4 can occasionally appear on food labels as a processing aid, emulsifier, or component of food-contact surfaces.
laureth-4 is vegan because the ingredient is produced entirely from plant-derived or synthetic petrochemical origins. Animal-based fats or tissues are not utilized in the production of the precursor fatty alcohols or during the ethoxylation process. Because no animal inputs are involved at any stage of its manufacture, laureth-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.