{"id":14959,"date":"2020-02-13T10:00:14","date_gmt":"2020-02-13T15:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=14959"},"modified":"2020-01-31T13:03:14","modified_gmt":"2020-01-31T18:03:14","slug":"annies-salad-dressing-may-contain-xanthan-gum-processed-with-egg-enzyme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2020\/02\/13\/annies-salad-dressing-may-contain-xanthan-gum-processed-with-egg-enzyme\/","title":{"rendered":"Annie’s\u00ae Salad Dressing May Contain Xanthan Gum Processed with Egg Enzyme"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Research by Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

The Vegetarian Resource Group received comments from two readers regarding xanthan gum in Annie’s salad dressings. Our readers reported that several of Annie’s dressings contain xanthan gum made using an enzyme from chicken eggs.

Annie\u2019s told one reader:
\u201cFor Annie\u2019s dressings where an animal enzyme is used to make the xanthan gum, the enzyme is derived from chicken. We do not make a vegan claim on these dressings for this reason. The dressings that contain xanthan gum made from chicken enzymes are:
1. Asian Sesame Dressing \u2013 Organic 8 oz.
2. Chile Lime Vinaigrette \u2013 Organic 8 oz.
3. Oil & Vinegar \u2013 Organic 8 oz.
4. Red Wine & Olive Oil Vinaigrette \u2013 Organic 8 oz.
5. Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette \u2013 Organic 8 oz.
6. Shiitake & Sesame Vinaigrette 8 oz.
7. Shiitake & Sesame Vinaigrette \u2013 Organic 8 oz.
8.\u00a0Shiitake & Sesame Vinaigrette 16 oz.\u201d

Annie\u2019s also said, \u201cWe chose to change our xanthan gum so that we could meet the Non-GMO Projects Standards.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, Annie\u2019s relayed: \u201cOur dressings contain several types of\nxanthan gums that have different functionality based on the type of dressing.\nDuring the making of xanthan gum, an enzyme is used. Some xanthan gums use a\nvegetable enzyme, and some use an animal enzyme. While the enzyme is no longer\npresent in the final product, we only label our dressings \u201cvegan\u201d if all\ningredients, including the xanthan gum processing enzyme, come from non-animal\nsources.\u201d
\n
\n\u201cFor Annie\u2019s Dressings where an animal enzyme is used to make the xanthan gum,\nthe enzyme comes from a chicken egg. We do not make a vegan claim on these\ndressings for this reason.\u201d
\n
\nBecause xanthan gum is usually considered vegan, we were curious to find out\nmore about Annie’s xanthan gum, seemingly made with a chicken egg enzyme. (It\nappears that the enzyme is from the egg, not from a chicken that has hatched.)\nFrom a multitude of inquiries, rephrasing of questions, putting together\nresponses we and our readers received, and talking to a food scientist\nknowledgeable about xanthan gum, this is information we pieced together.
\n
\nWhen using the filter tool for \u201cvegan\u201d on Annie\u2019s website, we generated the\nfollowing list of salad dressings, which all were labeled as vegan, contained\nxanthan gum, and were non-GMO certified: Poppy Papaya Seed, Green Garlic,\nGoddess, French, Lemon Chive Vinaigrette, Lite Goddess, and Tuscany Italian.\nOther dressings that are not identified as vegan also contain xanthan gum and\nare non-GMO certified. This seems consistent with Annie\u2019s statement that \u201cOur\ndressings contain several types of xanthan gums that have different\nfunctionality based on the type of dressing. \u2026 Some xanthan gums use a\nvegetable enzyme, and some use an animal enzyme.\u201d
\n
\nAccording to a knowledgeable food scientist, xanthan gum is used in salad\ndressing to:
\n
\n\u2022    add viscosity so that when you stop shaking the bottle, the\ndressing thickens and when you shake it, the dressing thins.
\n\u2022    help it \u201ccling\u201d to the salad.
\n\u2022    promote enhanced mouthfeel
\n\u2022    suspend spices.
\n
\nProduction of xanthan gum does not require the use of enzymes. Enzymes are used\nto make the purification process more efficient. The enzymes used to produce\nxanthan gum (called proteases and lysozymes) originally came from dairy but\ntoday are commonly from bacterial, fungal, or plant sources. As processing\naids, enzymes are not in finished food products except possibly in very small\n(i.e., residual) amounts.
\n
\nSeveral companies told us that xanthan gum is not commercially manufactured\ntoday from egg whites as a starting material. Even considering what we were\ntold by Annie’s, this statement is still true.
\n
\nThose companies also told us that egg enzymes aren’t used as processing aids.
\n
\nHowever, if what Annie’s is saying is happening, at least one company is using\negg enzymes as a processing aid in the manufacture of xanthan gum. If a reader\ncan locate this company, please let us know.
\n
\nGMO
\n\u201cGMO\u201d is an abbreviation for genetically modified organism. This means that\ngenetic material from one organism was inserted into that of another. After\nreplication, the receiving organism expresses the new genetic information in\nappearance or in the production of a certain desired substance. In this case,\nit would be xanthan gum.
\n
\nThe Non-GMO Project, which certifies products with its non-GMO Project Standard\ntold us: \u201cIf there were GMO material in either the microbes or the corn, but in\nthe finished product the xanthan gum made up less than 0.9% of the product, by\nweight percentage, the ingredient could be “micro-exempted”, and the\nproduct would also be compliant with the Standard.\u201d
\n
\nA food scientist told us: A manufacturer would rarely use xanthan gum at 0.9%\nor above. From a product development perspective, xanthan gum is typically used\nin most products, not just salad dressings, at 0.5% or less due to its high\nviscosity.
\n
\nALLERGY LABELING
\nAnnie’s does not claim on its labels that any of its salad dressings discussed\nin this article contains an egg ingredient. Such a statement is required under\nthe Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (FALCPA) if an\negg ingredient is present in the final product, because egg is considered a\nmajor allergen. See: https:\/\/www.fda.gov\/food\/food-allergensgluten-free-guidance-documents-regulatory-information\/food-allergen-labeling-and-consumer-protection-act-2004-falcpa<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some food companies will alert consumers to the fact that a major\nallergen was involved in the manufacturing process \u2013 and possibly present, if\nat all, only residually in the final product – by stating it on the label.\nAnnie’s has not taken this step concerning its xanthan gum. As mentioned above,\nAnnie\u2019s has said that the enzyme from the xanthan gum processing is not in the\nfinal product.
\n
\nNOTE: The VRG thanks our readers who alerted us that a food company is using\nxanthan gum that’s been processed with an egg enzyme even though the egg enzyme\ndoes not appear to be present in the final product.
\n
\nFor information about other ingredients, see: https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/ingredients\/index.php<\/a>\n
\n
\nThe contents of this posting, our website and our other publications, including\nVegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice.\nMedical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We\noften depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It\nis impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have\ndifferent views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about\nwhether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or\nconfirmation on your own. We live in an imperfect world and humans are not\nperfect. Do the best you can in your situation but remember that since veganism\nis about creating a more peaceful and healthier society, ingredient information\nshould never be used to be discouraged about what you can do, to be critical or\njudgmental of others, or to justify a diet bad for your health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Research by Jeanne Yacoubou, MS The Vegetarian Resource Group received comments from two readers regarding xanthan gum in Annie’s salad dressings. Our readers reported that several of Annie’s dressings contain xanthan gum made using an enzyme from chicken eggs. Annie\u2019s told one reader: \u201cFor Annie\u2019s dressings where an animal enzyme is used to make the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14959"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14959\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14961,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14959\/revisions\/14961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}