Some big gum brands are accidentally vegan.
I wanted to know if Dentyne was one of them, so I looked up the ingredients to all of their gums.
I compiled the relevant results on this page to save you some time.
Which Dentyne Flavors Are Vegan?
Let’s start by looking at the typical ingredients in Dentyne (this is for spicy cinnamon):
Sorbitol, Gum base, Maltitol, Natural and artificial flavor, Mannitol, Acacia, Acesulfame potassium, BHT, Blue 2 Lake, Candelilla Wax, Glycerin, Red 40 Lake, Soy Lecithin, Sucralose, Titanium dioxide
Here are the potential issues for vegans to worry about:
- Gum base – Gum base may or may not be vegan. It’s an umbrella term that covers both plant and animal ingredients, so only Dentyne knows if their gum base is vegan.
- Natural flavor – Natural flavor could be vegan. It’s another umbrella term that covers both plant and animal ingredients. In gum, it’s probably vegan, but we can’t say that for sure.
- Glycerin – Glycerin can come from either plant or animal sources, so it may be vegan.
- Artificial colors – In my eyes, artificial colors are technically vegan, but have ethical issues surrounding them. Ongoing animal testing for artificial colors like Red 40 and Blue 2 (among others) is enough to put off a lot of vegans.
It turns out that every flavor of Dentyne has the first 3 of those ingredients, while only Spicy Cinnamon has any artificial coloring.
| Flavor | Potential Non-Vegan Ingredients |
| Spicy Cinnamon |
|
| Arctic Chill, Peppermint, Spearmint, Winter Chill, Glacier Mint, Iceberg Mint |
|
Conclusion: There’s a Chance Dentyne Gum is Vegan
So where do we stand?
At this point, I DON’T think it’s safe to assume that any flavor of Dentyne gum is vegan.
Gum base and natural flavor are both likely vegan in my experience, but the glycerin isn’t.
There’s a chance that it is, but only Dentyne knows for sure.
I’ve contacted Dentyne about these issues, and received this super helpful response:
Unfortunately, this ingredient information is not currently available. As you can imagine our products change frequently and maintaining a list of products that contain enzymes would be virtually impossible.
So basically, they don’t even know what’s in their products.
It’s up to you at this point, but personally, I doubt any Dentyne gums are vegan.
