Nowadays several product labels are circulating the shelves. The two biggest are “vegan” and “plant-based.” Companies have started printing “plant-based” on their products to make them more marketable toward vegetarians and curious omnivores, but it’s confusing and misleading, causing consumers to think they are buying vegan items when in fact they likely are not.

It’s important to know what each label claim truly means so that you can make educated decisions when shopping. Here are the important differences between Vegan Action’s vegan certification claim (the Certified Vegan heart logo) and the term “plant-based”.

A plant-based product:

  • Is primarily made of vegetables, grains, pulses etc. but not required to be 100 percent made of plant ingredients
  • Could still contain dairy, eggs, meat, or other animal ingredients
  • May have animal-tested ingredients and final product may be tested on animals

A Certified Vegan product:

  • Does not contain any animal ingredients or animal by-products whatsoever
  • Is not processed with any animal ingredients or animal by-products
  • Is not made with any animal-derived GMO’s
  • Is confirmed to not have animal-tested ingredients and final product has not been tested on animals

If you are looking for products that are truly vegan and cruelty-free, look for the Certified Vegan Logo when shopping.

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