Vegan Xanthan Gum
By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS
The Vegetarian Resource Group received an intriguing email from an anonymous writer with this directive: "Please change xanthan gum to 'sometimes vegan' on your ingredient list (www.vrg.org/ingredients/). Xanthan gum is sometimes processed with egg whites. Thank you."
Xanthan gum, to the best of our knowledge, is vegan. Produced by bacterial fermentation, it is used to thicken food products or as an emulsifier to help water- and oil-based ingredients stay together.
This was the first time we had ever heard that xanthan gum could be processed with egg whites. Xanthan gum is sometimes used in place of egg whites in recipes with ingredients that would separate if not for some kind of binder. Or possibly the emailer meant to say that egg was a component of the bacterial growth medium or used as a processing aid during manufacture.
To clarify matters, we asked the inquirer for his/her information source. In a follow-up email the writer provided us with a Facebook post about a questionably vegan frozen dessert at Weis® Frozen Foods of Australia.
The VRG followed up by contacting Weis and several vegan groups in Australia. Stewart Eddie, New Products Manager at Weis, replied in an email: "We have recently changed the supply of one of our ingredients, xanthan gum, to ensure that our dairy free products are, and continue to be, suitable for vegans. To make the point clear, our sorbets never had xanthan gum derived from egg whites. There was a risk of cross contamination at the manufacturer of the xanthan gum. We risk assessed and deemed inappropriate to uphold a claim of suitable for vegans." In a follow-up question, Stewart replied: "We have verified our current supplier's ingredients are indeed vegan suitable." So it appears to The VRG that Weis' sorbet never had xanthan gum derived from egg whites or processed with egg whites.
We found other information from an Australian group that indicated not all xanthan gum was vegan. This declassification of xanthan gum as vegan appears to be based on academic research. No information was provided on current manufacturers producing xanthan gum using egg whites.
We looked into links concerning xanthan gum and found patents for xanthan gum discussing animal-derived products. In these patents, "Lysozyme Taiyo" was used. It is identified as a product of Taiyo Chemical Co.® A 1998 book reference points to Taiyo Chemical Co. in the context of a lysozyme sourced from egg white. Both the patents and the book are dated from the 1990s. This fact alone raised our suspicions about whether it's true today on a commercial basis.
We looked up Taiyo Chemical Co. to see if they produce an egg white-derived lysozyme today. Although the company may have done so in its beginnings during the 1950s, there is no mention of such a product today.
The VRG contacted three companies which manufacturer xanthan gum. Cargill® did not respond to our inquiry at all. We spoke with Tom at AEP Colloids® in January 2018. He told us in response to our question about egg whites in xanthan gum production: "Egg whites are never used. We use corn. Others may use other carbohydrates such as cane sugar." We also communicated by email with Jason from CP Kelco® Co. in February 2018. He attached a letter to his reply from Cheryl Van Dyne, Director, Global Regulatory Affairs, at CP Kelco. It stated: "Xanthan gum is a polysaccharide produced by bacterial fermentation of a pure culture of Xanthomonas campestris with protein and carbohydrate sources, such as but not limited to soy or corn analogs." We followed up by asking specifically if egg whites or cane sugar were used. Jason replied by attaching the product information sheet for xanthan gum.
CP Kelco's Xantham Gum Product Information
| Allergen | Material supplied contains... | Material supplied is produced on the same equipment with... | Material supplied is produced in the same factory with... | Cross contact with the material supplied? |
| Egg or its derivatives (frozen yolk, egg white powder, egg protein, etc.) | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Corn (maize) or its derivatives | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Milk and products thereof (including lactose) | No | No | No | No |
He prefaced the attachment by saying "The answers you requested can be found in the attached document." The document stated that xanthan gum was "suitable for a vegetarian diet." It also stated that xanthan gum was "not suitable for a vegan diet."
The reason why CP Kelco's xanthan gum is not vegan was given later on in the document in a table on allergens and xanthan gum production. We've reproduced a part of that table above. (Note: The "Material Supplied" is xanthan gum. The FDA recognizes eight food allergens, including egg and milk: www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/Allergens/ucm106890.htm#q4)
It's clear from the table that xanthan gum is not declared vegan because it is manufactured in a factory with and on the same equipment as products containing egg. However, the xanthan gum is not cross-contaminated with egg products nor are egg products used to make it.
Corn is included in this allergen table because it serves as the growth medium for the bacteria making the xanthan gum. Cane sugar is not included since it is not one of the eight allergens that must be declared according to the FDA. However, CP Kelco included other substances in their table that are not FDA-regulated allergens such as corn.
I asked Jason if cane sugar's absence from the list meant that cane sugar could not be a food source. Jason replied, "Correct."
As a general conclusion, neither egg nor milk products are used in xanthan gum's manufacture. They are not used as either growth media or as processing aids.
CP Kelco states in its product information document that xanthan gum is not considered vegan because it is produced on machinery where egg products have been. However, CP Kelco follows good manufacturing practices (GMPs) as they state in their product information document. In between product runs, machinery is thoroughly sanitized. There may be very slight residues present, but all reasonable precautions dictated by GMPs had been taken to avoid any cross-contamination.
It seems, to protect itself from legal liability in case someone with an egg allergy or a vegan consumes CP Kelco's xanthan gum and tries to sue the company claiming they had been misinformed or misled, CP Kelco does not call it "vegan."
As we've shown in the case of other ingredients, www.vrg.org/blog/2018/03/30/vegan-l-cysteine-update-l-cysteine-as-an-anti-browning-agent-for-pre-cut-fruit/ commercial manufacture is different from what happens in research laboratories. It may be true that animal- or dairy-derived ingredients could theoretically be used to produce certain ingredients on an industrial scale. There may even be patents on these procedures. However, if non-animal and non-dairy alternatives are available, companies today in 2018 seem to often choose them over animal/dairy sources to manufacture their ingredients.
There are several reasons for using non-animal/non-dairy sources. Here are a few:
- Non-animal/dairy sources may be cheaper.
- There's a more consistent supply of non-animal/dairy sources.
- It's easier to get religious certifications on non-animal/dairy sources.
- There are consumer concerns about animal-carried illnesses (such as BSE or Bird
Flu) that consumers may have related to animal- or dairy-derived ingredients.
In light of this analysis, The Vegetarian Resource Group believes that the vegan classification of xanthan gum is correct. If you have documentation otherwise from companies currently producing xanthan gum, please share it with us.
The contents of this article and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made.
Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirm on your own.
More ingredient information is at www.vrg.org/ingredients/index.php.
Jeanne Yacoubou is the Research Director for The Vegetarian Resource Group. She is the author of VRG's Guide to Food Ingredients.
