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Aisle guide

Pantry staples

The cupboard is where source-dependent additives live quietly: vanilla extract, sauces, bread mix, and anything that lists E471 or enzymes without a feedstock.

• Disputed

  Vanilla extract

  Real vanilla extract is vanilla beans steeped in alcohol and water. Whether that alcohol carrier matters is one of the most genuinely contested questi…

• Halal

  Vanilla Bean

  Vanilla Bean: Classified halal as a grain/plant-based ingredient per this list; check any parenthetical source condition noted.

• Source-dependent

  Natural flavors

  'Natural flavor' is the least informative word pair on the label — a regulated term that covers hundreds of compounds, some animal-derived, many alcoh…

• Source-dependentE471

  Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids

  The emulsifier in bread, ice cream, margarine and peanut butter. The same E-number covers palm-oil production and pig-fat production, and food law doe…

• Source-dependentE322

  Lecithin

  One of the most common emulsifiers in chocolate and baked goods. Commercial lecithin is overwhelmingly soy or sunflower; the label rarely needs chasin…

• Source-dependentE422

  Glycerin (glycerol)

  A sweet humectant that keeps foods moist. The molecule is identical whether it came from palm oil or pig fat — which is exactly why the source has to …

• Source-dependent

  Enzymes and rennet

  Enzymes make cheese curdle, bread rise and juice clear. They can be grown in a fermentation tank or cut from a calf's stomach — and the label just say…

• Source-dependentE441

  Gelatin

  The single most important ingredient to check in processed food. Gelatin is a protein boiled from animal skin, bones and connective tissue — and in We…

A procedure for reading a pack - not a product certification and not a fatwa. See the methodology.