When an omnivore tests out the water for vegetarian or vegan life, desserts can be a challenge in the beginning stages. Even for someone who is lactose-intolerant but has no interest in a plant-based life, the amount of pre-packaged food with milk in it is astonishing. A snack as simple as salt n’ vinegar chips usually has milk in them. Reading nutrition labels can easily make an aspiring vegan give up altogether and go back to eating meat and dairy. However, sometimes there are snacks that are widely believed to be safe, ones that everybody eats and are often believed to be vegan. Oreos are one of those snacks. But are Oreos vegan?

Oreo Discloses Whether It’s Vegan or Not

Someone somewhere spread a rumor that Oreos are vegan. However, the official site’s Frequently Asked Questions confirms that Oreos are not vegan: “Unfortunately, OREOiD Cookies are not Kosher or Vegan. We cannot guarantee OREOiD Cookies are free of allergens as they will be dipped in fudge.” Why were they believed to be vegan? Often categorized as “accidentally vegan,” depending on where the cookie was made, they often do not contain any animal products. The ingredients commonly say they’re a mix of enriched flour, sugar, palm oil, soybean oil, leavening, high fructose corn syrup and salt. Then comes those tricky ingredients related to chocolate and cocoa. Established vegans already know that there are vegan versions of chocolate and pure cocoa powder.

However, Oreos are manufactured in facilities that also make dairy products. Cross-contamination is a strong possibility, which means consumers who have dairy allergies or are allergic to chocolate may be at risk. Additionally, as mentioned, some Oreos are dipped in fudge. Although there is such a thing as vegan fudge (powdered sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, vegan butter, plant-based milk, vanilla extract), that’s not the fudge used by the Oreo manufacturers. Reading the nutrition label will clarify whether each package is dairy. Although the package may have the same familiar blue covering, don’t assume all of the cookies are made the same.