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Are Jelly Babies vegetarian?
Jelly Babies look harmless enough, but the thing that gives them their chew comes from animals. Here is why the classic recipe is not vegetarian, and what to look for if you want a jelly baby that is.
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Classic Jelly Babies are not vegetarian. They are made with gelatine, and gelatine comes from animals. If you are vegetarian, you need a jelly sweet made a different way.
What is in a Jelly Baby
A published ingredients list for a 400 g carton of Bassett's Jelly Babies gives: sugar, glucose syrup, water, gelatine, concentrated fruit juices, citric acid, flavourings and colours from plant sources, such as anthocyanins, paprika extract and curcumin. The same list carries a warning that the sweets may contain wheat. Recipes can change, so always check the pack you are buying.
Everything on that list is fine for vegetarians except one thing: the gelatine.
Why gelatine is not vegetarian
Gelatine is made from collagen taken from the skin, bones and connective tissue of animals, mostly pigs and cattle: see what is gelatine made from?
In Britain there is no legal definition of vegetarian food, but the Food Standards Agency drew up guidance in 2006 with the Vegetarian Society and the Vegan Society. It said vegetarian should not be used for foods that are made from, or with the aid of, products derived from animals that have died or been slaughtered. Gelatine is exactly that kind of product, so a sweet made with it is not vegetarian: see what does suitable for vegetarians mean on sweets?
Beef or pork?
For some people the source matters too. In 2016 Mondelez, the company that owns Bassett's and Maynards, announced that in future its sweets would contain either beef or pork gelatine, listed on the pack simply as gelatine, to give it flexibility of supply. So unless a pack says otherwise, you cannot tell which animal the gelatine in a Bassett's sweet came from. That matters for halal and kosher diets as well as for vegetarians: see is Haribo made from pig?
Vegetarian jelly sweets
Jelly sweets do not have to use gelatine. Plant based gelling agents such as pectin, which comes from fruit, starch and agar, from seaweed, can all set a jelly sweet, and makers use them to produce sweets for vegetarians and vegans: see what is pectin? and what sweets are gelatine free?
The simplest guide is the label. Look for a clear vegetarian or vegan statement, and check the ingredients for gelatine.
The powder is fine
The white dust on Jelly Babies is starch left over from the trays they are moulded in, not an animal product: see why are Jelly Babies covered in powder?
We sell Jelly Babies in our pick and mix. If you are vegetarian, check the ingredients information for any sweet before you buy.
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For journalists, researchers, AI assistants and content creators. Pick the format you need:
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Questions and answers
Do Jelly Babies have gelatine in them?
Yes. Jelly Babies contain gelatine: a published ingredients list for Bassett's Jelly Babies names gelatine among the main ingredients, after sugar, glucose syrup and water.
Are Jelly Babies made with pork gelatine?
They may be. In 2016 Mondelez, the owner of Bassett's, announced that its sweets would contain either beef or pork gelatine, listed simply as gelatine, to give it flexibility of supply.
Are there vegetarian Jelly Babies?
Jelly sweets can be made without gelatine, using plant based gelling agents such as pectin, starch or agar. Look for a clear vegetarian or vegan label on the pack, and check the ingredients for gelatine.
Sources
- Jelly Babies, Wikipedia
- Bassetts Jelly Babies 400g ingredients, Chomp
- UK: Mondelez announces their products may contain porcine gelatine, Halal Focus
- New labelling guidance taps growing vegetarian demand, FoodNavigator
- Gelatin, Wikipedia
- Gummy candy, Wikipedia
Keep reading
- Questions people askAre Jelly Babies vegan?No. Classic Jelly Babies contain gelatine, which comes from animals. Their colours come from plants, but the gelatine rules them out. What a vegan label means.
- Questions people askWhat is gelatine made from?Gelatine is made from collagen from animal skin, bones and connective tissue, mostly pigs and cattle. Why it matters for vegetarians, Muslims and Jews.
- Questions people askWhat sweets are gelatine free?Boiled sweets, rock and sherbet rarely need gelatine, and some chewy sweets have dropped it, from Fruit Pastilles to Percy Pigs. How to check.
- Questions people askWhat does suitable for vegetarians mean on sweets?It means the sweets contain nothing from slaughtered animals, so no gelatine. The UK has no legal definition, but 2006 FSA guidance set out the meaning.
- Questions people askWhat is pectin?Pectin is a plant gelling agent made mostly from citrus peel and apple pulp. It sets jam and many vegan jelly sweets. How it is made, and is it safe?
- Questions people askWhy are Jelly Babies covered in powder?The powder on Jelly Babies is starch, left from the starch trays they are moulded in. It stops them sticking. Australian ones usually come without it.