Can vegans eat margarine with vitamin D?

Nowadays almost everyone eats vegetarian for at least one day a week. There are also people - vegans - who have a complete vegan diet and therefore do not eat animal products such as cheese, eggs or honey. But where do moulds and yeasts fall into this picture? Can we classify these micro-organisms as plant-based or animal-based? This question was presented to the Board of Appeal of the Advertising Code Committee.

Here's the matter. In a Becel television commercial for margarine with added vitamin D, it is proclaimed that the margarine is "100% plant based". According to the complainant, the margarine with the Vegan-logo cannot be 100% plant based because vitamin D is produced by fungi and yeasts. The Advertising Code Committee considers that moulds and yeasts cannot be equated with animals. The presence of vitamin D in the margarine therefore does not make the text "100% plant based" misleading.

On appeal, Becel's parent company - Upfield - submits that the meaning of 'plant based' is governed by a European regulation, namely Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013. It states that plant based refers exclusively to the fat content of the margarine. Whether the moulds or yeasts that produce vitamin D are plant based is therefore irrelevant.

The Board of Appeal does not go along with this. The claim "100% plant based" refers to the whole product and not just the oils and fats. The absolute claim "100% vegetable" leaves no room for animal constituents, not even in minimal quantities. Nevertheless, Upfield comes out on top. From the same regulation, the College concludes that mushrooms are classified as 'processed fruit and vegetables'. That is why fungi and yeasts should also be considered vegetable. All's well that ends well. Vegans can continue to eat margarine with vitamin D!

Lisanne Steenbergen