Vegan Maple Syrup?

I have sent an information request to one of the New Brunswick companies, we'll see what they say.

Emma JC

The company wrote back immediately and let me know that they use organice safflower oil as their defoaming agent and loved my suggestion that they work on a 'vegan' label. I suggested that they at least put their safflower oil info on their website. They also said there isn't a 'standard' per se for organic for the smaller companies so it is always good to double check. They are the Canadian Organic Maple Co. Ltd.

Emma JC
 
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Just look for pure maple syrup. It should only involve boiling the sap leaving you with pure naturally sweetened syrup only. Check local farmer's markets or health stores. Not sure how it is where you live but in NY- local pure maple syrup is very common and easy to find. I just picked one up at an Amish stand on the NYS thruway. ?

Bella what we discovered is that it is not uncommon for a maple syrup company to use animal products as a "defoaming agent".

And since the defoaming agent isn't an ingredient it isn't on the label. Read the first article in this thread. It does a good job of explaining it.

So far we are sure that Vermont organic is vegan.
 
Just look for pure maple syrup. It should only involve boiling the sap leaving you with pure naturally sweetened syrup only. Check local farmer's markets or health stores. Not sure how it is where you live but in NY- local pure maple syrup is very common and easy to find. I just picked one up at an Amish stand on the NYS thruway. ?

So "pure" means they don't use any defoaming agents? If you have a source on that, that would be great! Most of them seem to either use a product that is made from animal fats, or to do it the old fashioned way and hang some lard above the boiling pot, and when the foam hits it, that melts some of the lard which defoams it. If "pure" means that is not done, yay!
 
Thank you for bringing this information up as I didnt know that maple syrup could possibly not be vegan. I think the best bet is to buy from a specialised vegan store that only sells vegan products. For example in New zealand there is the cruelty free shop and it sells whole harry organic maple syrup amber. This shop only stocks vegan products that they do research to ensure they truely are vegan. Now I definitely know this is the one I will be buying
 
Thank you for bringing this information up as I didnt know that maple syrup could possibly not be vegan. I think the best bet is to buy from a specialised vegan store that only sells vegan products. For example in New zealand there is the cruelty free shop and it sells whole harry organic maple syrup amber. This shop only stocks vegan products that they do research to ensure they truely are vegan. Now I definitely know this is the one I will be buying

It's a very good idea and yet I would not be able to afford my syrup habit if I had to search for a speciality shop and buy it there.

Emma JC
 
Does New Zealand have maple trees? or is all the Maple syrup imported. If you normally buy imported maple syrup you can buy North America organic maple syrup and it will be vegan. (wait! is that right? is that what we figured out?)
 
Does New Zealand have maple trees? or is all the Maple syrup imported. If you normally buy imported maple syrup you can buy North America organic maple syrup and it will be vegan. (wait! is that right? is that what we figured out?)

According to an article I found...

Canada produces 71 per cent of world's maple syrup and 91 per cent of that originates from the province of Quebec. But a clutch of New Zealand academics think this country could have a maple syrup industry, despite a mild climate and no sugar maple forests.
Their preliminary research has "determined that a plantation of maple saplings for use in commercial production of maple syrup is a possible and a promising endeavour in New Zealand", according to a presentation to be given at a chemical engineering conference in Queenstown on October 1.
The most promising places for maple syrup production are roughly Molesworth Station and inland from Westport, both in the South Island, according to their paper.

Emma JC
 
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