New expanded vegan status definitions

Fussy Vegan Pro (iOS only) version 7 now has expanded an expanded vegan status. We have decided to provide this information so that app users have more information to make informed decisions on the products that they purchase as well as minimising confusion when a manufacturer  states that a product is not vegan simply because they have decided not to make vegan claim, even though the product is still vegan.

There are three types of vegan products.

1. "Certified" - The manufacturer has had this product or menu item certified by a recognised vegan organisation. We will only put this status when we are confident that the certification body standards align with the same standards that we use (ISO standard 23662 and Vegan Australia standards).

2. "Vegan Claim Made" - The manufacturer has labelled the product or menu item as vegan but has not had the product certified by a recognised vegan organisation. The manufacturer must have a vegan label somewhere on the actual packaging. If the product is sold primarily online, then the manufacturer must clearly show that the product is vegan on the product information page. For food chain menu items, the food chain must clearly list the product as vegan on their menu or allergen list. If the product is primarily sold in stores, then we will not use this status if the manufacturer makes a vegan claim on their website, but does not make a vegan claim on the actual packaging, as most consumers are not going to check a manufacturer website. We interpret that as not really making a vegan claim if they don't put it on the packaging itself. *

3. "No Vegan Claim Made" - The manufacturer has either not intentionally made the product vegan, but the product still meets the requirements to be considered vegan (commonly referred to as "accidentally vegan" or the manufacturer has intentionally made the product vegan but has not labelled the product as vegan (see #2 above). *

* Fussy Vegan will still do an independent assessment of the vegan status, irrespective of any vegan claims made by the manufacturer or food chain.

As of today, we have updated the vegan status as per the above on around 7,000 vegan products. It will take some time before you will see the new status on all vegan products.