Is peg-100 vegan?

PEG-100, short for polyethylene glycol 100, is a synthetic polymer of ethylene oxide that functions primarily as a binding agent, carrier, or emulsifier. While widely utilized in personal care items and pharmaceutical capsules, it also appears on dietary supplement and specialty food packaging. It is produced by polymerizing ethylene oxide with water, glycols, or fatty acid derivatives.

This ingredient is considered possibly vegan because its starting materials can come from either plant or animal sources. While the ethylene oxide backbone is commonly synthetic, precursors and related fatty compounds used in manufacturing can be sourced from vegetable oils, such as palm or coconut, or from animal tallow. Food and supplement labels usually do not state which of these sources was used.

Consumers seeking to avoid animal derivatives can check for an official vegan certification on the packaging. Without such a certification, contacting the manufacturer directly is the only way to confirm whether the PEG-100 used in a specific product comes entirely from plant or synthetic origins.