According to a new study, more than a third of vegan items include animal components, prompting experts to caution buyers from buying vegan items since they may include animal products.

Forensic experts discovered evidence of egg or milk in a variety of vegan or plant-based products, prompting trade standards officials to urge for legislative safeguards to prevent customers from being "exploited by unethical food businesses."

Hampshire and Kent Scientific Services inspectors discovered egg or dairy in 24 (39%) of 61 vegan items, including 13 dairy replacements and 48 meat alternatives. 90% were determined to be unsatisfactory, which means they failed for traces of dairy or had mistakes in their labelling and nutritional information.

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Vegan versions of chocolate truffles, pizza, burgers, muffins, and wraps were among the foods examined.

“The lack of legal definition could be exploited by unethical food businesses claiming foods as vegan, when in fact they contain animal-derived products," warned John Herriman, chief executive of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI).

“Perhaps of greater concern is that this ambiguity can have disastrous and sometimes tragic consequences for those with allergies to animal-derived products, like milk and eggs. We are aware that people have sadly lost their lives because of this and are therefore calling for more clarity on what can and can’t legally be described as vegan and plant-based food.”

According to recent surveys, the majority of people believe that anything labelled as vegan is free of animal-derived substances. The CTSI polled 2,000 persons and discovered that 76% of them agreed.

However, Vegan has no legal definition, allowing companies to exploit people and sell their goods as such even if they include dairy or eggs. In addition, unlike the requirement for trace levels of gluten, there is no threshold requirement for animal-derived products in the UK or the EU.

About 1.5% of the population is vegan, and one out of every six persons has a milk or shellfish allergy. According to CTSI research, 84.6% of respondents with a milk allergy feel vegan meals are safe to consume. This opinion was most prevalent (92.7%) among those aged 35 to 44.

Celia Marsh died in 2017 after eating a Pret-a-Manger wrap that was declared vegan but included milk protein owing to cross-contamination during the production process. Coroner Maria Voisin's comments in 2022, in which she urged for a system of verification to ensure food is accurately marked "free from" and "vegan," shed attention on the severe implications of undeclared allergies.

CTSI is calling for increased accountability in case extreme reactions take place.

Consumers are advised to search for the following components on plant-based or vegan products: casein, a milk protein; lactose, a milk and sugar protein; and whey, a milk byproduct. They should also be on the lookout for collagen, which comes from animal skin and bones, and lard or tallow, which is animal fat. 

According to a spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, “Food labels must not be misleading to ensure consumers can have confidence in the food they are buying – which is why we require the presence of ingredients which may cause food allergies to be clearly highlighted on packaging."