Is Lactic Acid Vegan?
Is lactic acid vegan? I have read that it is a byproduct of lacto-fermenting. I would like to know if it can be made from another type of ferment or if it is just the result of the fermentation process?
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Lactic acid is not vegan. It is produced by bacterial fermentation, which makes it grown of animal or dairy sources.
Lactic acid can be vegan since it comes from things like beets, apples, and other fruits/vegetables. This can be chemically reproduced though so it’s not always 100% vegan.
Lactase is the enzyme in animals that breaks down lactose for absorption by the intestines. Lactic acid produced by fermentation of these foods contains “lact” in its name because the lactic acid-producing bacteria use lactose as a food source. If you drink milk, your small intestine produces enough lactase to break down and absorb most of this lactic acid (hence how we call people who like beer “Lacto-vegetarians”).
Lactic Acid is vegan because it’s a salt.
What is lactic acid? Well, it’s a type of chemical that appears naturally in sour foods like yogurt and fermented drinks, or as a byproduct of muscle metabolism – which sounds complicated but they’re not. A more circular answer for this question is to note that animal lactose cheese has lactate sugar in it…