Am I the last to know what’s in Jell-o?!
Recently I was looking up different activities to do with my toddler that used Jell-O. Out of curiosity I googled “all natural jell-o” which prompted me to search “what is Jell-O made of?”
The primary ingredient in Jell-O is gelatin. Okay, great, simple enough right? No. Gelatin comes from the protein in cows and pigs bones and hides (skin). Since the process required to make this powder results in the product being “100% pure protein it is not categorized as an animal product by the FDA.” (See below for sources; I could not verify this with another source.) I did find this tidbit on the FDA’s website under, 21CFR189.5 “Substances prohibited for human food” Gelatin is listed as number eight.
Let me be clear: I am not a vegan nor a vegetarian and I am all about the occasional gummy bear, but we make and eat jello frequently and I found this slightly revolting. I began looking for the Jell-O brand alternatives that were vegan and I found some vegan alternatives on Peta’s website, but wanted to find something locally. Wal-Mart had no vegan alternatives nor did Target, but your selection/stock might vary.
I found Simply Delish at HEB, it is about 90 cents more expensive than the regular Jell-O brand. As far as the product itself, the water does need to be boiling, just hot for the granules to dissolve completely which requires a little more stirring (Amelia did not mind the extra effort). As for taste and consistency I could not tell the difference nor could my picky toddler.
You also might want to look at your gummy vitamins. We use Olly Kid’s Multivitamins until I found out it contained Gelatin. Zarbee’s Kid’s Sleep and their Kid’s Multivitamin do not contain Gelatin. We are not swearing off all Gelatin, but we are learning to keep our eyes open to ingredients and how they are produced. Mindfulness doesn’t need to be a lifestyle change right?
Sources
