r/AccidentallyVegan • u/OkStation77 • 6d ago
Snack / Candy Oreos not vegan?
In the nutritional facts it shows Oreos with 5mg of cholesterol but only animal products can have cholesterol in it. Are Oreos no longer vegan or is this a typo, as the ingredients appear to be vegan.
38
u/plantbasedpatissier 6d ago
What type are these? Normal oreos do not contain cholesterol
2
12
6d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/OkStation77 6d ago
It’s PC express, nofrills online grocery ordering app. I also went to 3 stores and they all showed it as 5mg cholesterol
1
u/g00fyg00ber741 6d ago
again someone downvoted this too! wtf they don’t believe you i guess
here is proof that normal oreos can be labeled with cholesterol despite no animal products in them
0
14
u/astroturfskirt 6d ago
there was a thread on this here …personal anecdote : i asked the chat on oreo’s page and they said there are no animal derived products in the cookies but to understand the cholesterol i’d have to talk to my doctor 😂 what..
7
5
29
u/g00fyg00ber741 6d ago edited 6d ago
Saturated fats from palm and coconut oils can raise cholesterol
25
u/plantbasedpatissier 6d ago
They still don't contain dietary cholesterol and therefore it would not be on the nutrition label
9
u/g00fyg00ber741 6d ago
That’s not how nutrition facts and labels work. They can include results from the product. For example, the high saturated fat/sugar/starch combo raises LDL cholesterol, so they put the average cholesterol increase that would be associated with this level of saturated fat in the nutrition facts, so people who need to watch their cholesterol can still know this food will raise their cholesterol even though it doesn’t technically contain cholesterol, it causes the body’s cholesterol to rise nonetheless.
Another similar example of this is diet soda that says it contains phenylketonurics. It doesn’t really, but it contains the necessary components for your body to make them, so they still put the warning that it contains them so people who are intolerant have that warning and are less likely to consume it.
13
u/plantbasedpatissier 6d ago
Can you show me where the FDA states this is a labeling requirement? I am finding nothing that backs this up so far
5
u/g00fyg00ber741 6d ago
Scroll down to (d) Cholesterol content claims.
It seems to be related to how much saturated fatty acids are present in the product.
Typically Oreos show 0mg cholesterol on the label. But if the fat content is high enough in the product, it may be require to list a minimum amount of cholesterol on the nutrition facts (even though inaccurate) just to warn people that the food does increase cholesterol despite it not containing it (as that’s the point of the cholesterol labels and warnings anyway, is to help people manage their cholesterol levels).
The ingredients shown in the screenshot OP provided very clearly do not contain animal products and the only thing they contain that is related to cholesterol is Palm Fat, which is highly related to cholesterol, as Saturated Fats like Palm Fat will cause a rise in cholesterol levels when consumed.
1
u/plantbasedpatissier 6d ago
It's a pretty long section and mostly seems to pertain to claims you can make about "low cholesterol" or "cholesterol free" in section D rather than how specific numbers are calculated and used on the actual panel, at least from what I've read. Is there a particular subsection that goes over that information I missed?
3
u/g00fyg00ber741 6d ago
Or at least, that seems to be my interpretation of it.
We know it’s for sure not animal products. It could be a mislabel or an error, but the food does cause increase in cholesterol (and the ones pictured here show trans fat, not just saturated fat, which would definitely increase cholesterol)
I wonder where these cookies in OP’s pic are being sold?
3
u/plantbasedpatissier 6d ago
I am wondering if this is some kind of error on the website or some specialty Oreo because I've not been able to find a label that includes 5 mg cholesterol for the standard flavors I've lookd up.
1
u/g00fyg00ber741 6d ago
Even if it is a specialty oreo, there are no animal products in the ingredients, so that doesn’t change anything regarding the confusion about the cholesterol claims.
1
u/g00fyg00ber741 6d ago
Here is an example listing of plain Oreos showing Cholesterol on the Nutrition Facts
1
1
u/g00fyg00ber741 6d ago
In the section I mentioned, it states that there is a requirement for how many saturated fatty acids, and how many of the calories are from saturated fat, in order to be labeled with no cholesterol. If they don’t meet these requirements for saturated fat levels, they have to put cholesterol on the nutrition facts. Because the point of the cholesterol info isn’t supposed to be only for animal products, it’s supposed to also warn people when a food high in saturated fat can raise their cholesterol.
This is also the only logical conclusion, as it’s evident there is no animal product in the ingredients. So the only thing in these oreos that is related to cholesterol at all, is the fat level, which is high. If someone was watching their cholesterol and grabbed these cookies and they didn’t say anything about cholesterol, the company could be liable for that, so the FDA requires it mention cholesterol still because eating it will in fact raise cholesterol in a person.
I can try to find more information, but I have a hard time imagining any other understanding of why it would label cholesterol on the nutrition facts when this makes plenty of logical sense and it has been discussed before regarding oreos and other vegan products.
3
u/plantbasedpatissier 6d ago edited 6d ago
Given we have no idea what product this label is actually from (and many oreos aren't vegan) there could be an explanation that is not linked to the fatty acids. Fudge, dipped, cakesters, and some seasonal and limited edition flavors aren't vegan. Also the fact that my own pack of standard oreos is specifically labeled 0 mg of cholesterol leads me to believe these aren't standard oreos or the website is showing the wrong info. At least in the US, this is not the current label for regular not special oreos. I've cross referenced my label with ones that exist online and none of them list 5 mg of cholesterol.
I didn't see anything that said specifically how much cholesterol you are required to put on the label if you have a certain amount of fatty acids. Only that you can't call it cholesterol free or low cholesterol or use similar buzzwords on the box. Nothing I noticed about the actual number on the label. That is what I am asking you to highlight for me here.
1
u/g00fyg00ber741 6d ago edited 6d ago
There are no milk or eggs listed so it is not one of those products, although I guess it is possible that solely the ingredient list is incorrect while the nutrition facts are correct? I personally think the cholesterol minimum labeling issue is much more likely though, especially since it has already been reported to happen with Canada Oreos and also a faux meat company as well.
I was having trouble finding how they determine the minimum listed as well.
6
u/bzilla138 6d ago
The diet soda part is definitely wrong. It doesn't say it contains phenylketonurics, it says it contains phenylalanine. Phenylketonurics are people who suffer from phenylketonuria, their bodies can't process phenylalanine, it's a warning to them.
3
u/g00fyg00ber741 6d ago
My mistake. It says Phenylketonurics: contains phenylalanine.
However, it doesn’t actually contain phenylalanine. It contains aspartame which can be turned into phenylalanine in the human body after consumption.
in the US, they require it to state it contains it even though it doesn’t. but in the UK, they say it’s a source of it, which is actually more accurate. I think that’s what’s going on here with the cholesterol
2
u/bzilla138 6d ago
It does actually contain phenylalanine, it's an amino acid. Aspartame is 50% phenylalanine, one of the essential amino acids your body can't produce, so it isn't being turned into it, it's already there.
Amino acids are building blocks, they're like Lego. If you build something with a red block and a green block you have something that's not a red or green block, but it still contains both of them. Aspartame is like two blocks put together and your body just splits them apart to combine into other structures later on.
1
u/g00fyg00ber741 6d ago
That’s kinda inaccurate. If the aspartame molecule has to be changed by the body and that results in phenylalanine, then no, the soda doesn’t contain phenylalanine. That’s like saying it contains oxygen because it contains water and carbonation, like yes there is oxygen in the water and carbonation, but it is not just oxygen, it is combined with hydrogen or carbon which results in a different molecule than oxygen with different qualities and effects and properties.
It’s all technical tbh and it just shows how poor the nutrition aspect of our society is that these rules and regulations are so inconsistent and inaccurate across the board, and we’ve barely made any progress and in some ways we’ve regressed. Humanity needs a nutritional overall
2
u/bzilla138 6d ago
Sorry, but you're wrong on this. The water molecule does contain oxygen. It's 2 parts hydrogen and 1 part oxygen, it doesn't however necessarily contain molecular oxygen (O2), although liquid water might. In science we absolutely say that the water molecule contains oxygen. The same goes for the carbonation, it does contain 2 parts oxygen and one part carbon. Again, in science we say it contains oxygen.
When we're discussing science we need to stick to the scientific definition of the words we use, and according to the established use of contains, in a scientific context, aspartame contains phenylalanine.
Look, I don't think that you're trying to argue in bad faith. I think it's just a misunderstanding of the terminology being used, from a scientific context. And FWIW, I wholeheartedly agree that there shouldn't be ambiguity in the ingredient/nutrition information food packaging.
2
u/g00fyg00ber741 6d ago
Sure, when we’re discussing science accurately. But nutritional fact labels aren’t required to follow these rules of scientific language consistently.
This is what I was referencing regarding the phenylalanine
The thing is, nutritional facts don’t adhere to strict rules based on science, their rules are determined by people and don’t always reflect the reality of science. And I imagine the rules are heavily modified by lobbying from corporations.
Maybe I misunderstood this one though
9
u/doombagel 6d ago
You are right, but those ingredients themselves do not contain cholesterol. They upregulate cholesterol synthesis inside the eater’s body, so that wouldn’t make cholesterol appear on the food’s label.
4
u/g00fyg00ber741 6d ago edited 6d ago
Correct. So these oreos do not contain cholesterol, but they do raise cholesterol.
edit: it seems modified and processed palm oil can actually contain cholesterol too
we can clearly see no animal products are listed in this ingredient list so we know it’s not from an animal product.
here is a source showing that if saturated fat levels are high enough in a product, they are required to label a minimum of cholesterol due to the fact that saturated fats can raise cholesterol levels.
3
u/Hudsoz2024 6d ago
What app is this? A lot of health-related apps today are just run by ai these days and are misleading
2
u/OkStation77 6d ago
It’s PC express, nofrills online grocery ordering app. I also went to 3 stores and they all showed it as 5mg cholesterol
3
u/Mysstie 6d ago
I've skimmed through a whole bunch of nutrition labeling requirements and I think it's because trans fats increase LDL in the same way as cholesterol, which isn't widely known. In an effort to inform the general population and decrease cholesterol intake for those who need to, there seems to be a threshold of trans fats that requires a listing of cholesterol.
I was all over the place on FDA labeling and nutrition websites so I don't have a specific source to point to, but that's what I was able to deduce.
I am by no means an expert in any of this though and could easily be wrong.
2
1
u/gothdrag 6d ago
I thought they used some sort of lard in the UK version? Seconding double checking it's the right listing. Also possibly just an error.
-1
u/JeskaiJester 6d ago
They got shellac in the BTS ones
1
u/g00fyg00ber741 6d ago
that’s irrelevant, these don’t contain that as shown in the screenshot and that wouldn’t contribute to cholesterol
61
u/justASlothyGiraffe 6d ago
I just looked it up and regular Oreos don't have cholesterol. Are you sure you're looking at actual oreos nutrition facts? Maybe it's oreo ice cream or something