lactic acid from fruit?

[Christa]

Does anyone know if lactic acid can actually be derived from fruit rather than milk? I was curious b/c my children's "'Yummi Bears" Vegetarian vitamins state that they are "Free of: yeast, wheat, milk, egg, soy, " etc., yet lactic acid is listed in the ingredients list.

I called them & asked & they said that lactic acid does not need to be derived from lactose, & it can come from fruit. Customer Service told me that there is no lactose nor lactose derivatives in the vitamins. Anyone else ever heard of this?

[veganerd]

yes it is commonly derrived from beets

[Erin Pavlina]

definitely. Lactic acid is often from vegan sources.

[Christa]

Do you have any idea how to tell what the source is w/out calling/writing the company? I have seen lactic acid in everything from kalamata olives to pretzels. I always just avoid it b/c I have assumed that it is lactose derived.

[Erin Pavlina]

Sometimes a product will actually say lactic acid (non-dairy sources) but many don't.

I generally assume products like olives or pickles and such are non-dairy due to the nature of the product being close to it's natural state. Bread products are much trickier and I call the company.

[veganerd]

well a good general rule to figure out the source is to look at the rest of the ingredients. e.g. if you are buying olives and thats all that is in the jar then i would have to say that it is most definately vegan. ive never found that to not be true in any of the many products that i checked out over my first few years of being vegan. however if the other ingredients are somewhat questionable..if the label says milk...beef....eggs...whey...beef tallow...chicken stock....and then lactic acid...then that may be questionable...you would probably want to write the company to see what their source for lactic acid is.....

hope that was really clear and helpful

[Leo]

Fruits do not contain lactic acid, unless they are rotten. It can be obtained by converting the sugars of the fruit into lactic acid by bacteria (lactic acid fermentation).