Are Sour Patch Kids Vegan?

In the United States, Sour Patch Kids do not contain gelatin, they use modified corn starch for texture, and most mainstream vegan sources consider them acceptable, though not certified vegan. In the UK, most Sour Patch Kids varieties contain gelatin and are definitively not vegan; the UK Watermelon variety is an exception and is reportedly gelatin-free.

US cane sugar is often refined through bone char (charred cattle bones used as a decolorizing filter), which is a concern for strict vegans, though Mondelez has not publicly confirmed or denied whether their specific sugar suppliers use this process. Artificial dyes present in the US formulation (Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1) are not derived from animals but are required by the FDA to undergo animal testing, which some strict vegans cite as a disqualifying factor.