Are Ring Pops Actually Vegan?

Maybe you solidified a sandbox relationship with the crystal candy, using a stone of cherry or blue raspberry supported by a flimsy plastic band. Maybe you scored a handful of the nostalgic candy in your trick-or-treat haul and adorned each finger with the edible bauble. Regardless, Ring Pops are the ultimate finger food. They're sweet and stylish and come in sour, swirling, gemlike hues. The colorful lollipops are just as at home in the candy jar as they are in a jewelry box. But are Ring Pops vegan? 

First, the good news for bling-lovers: The classic Ring Pop topped with a sweet, hard candy stone is, in fact, vegan. While the particulars vary from flavor to flavor, the primary ingredients of a Ring Pop are sugar, corn syrup, lactic acid, sodium lactate, and artificial flavor. However, Ring Pop's gummy rings, like many gummy candies, are not vegan because the candy counts gelatin, a kind of collagen made from animal proteins, among its ingredients.

If you're looking to fill your office candy bowl (or your personal stash), plenty of similar hard candies are vegan-friendly. Charms Blow Pops, with their bubble gum center, are basically two candies in one and are mercifully vegan. The same goes for Wonka Fun Dip, Life Savers hard candies, Smarties, many PEZ flavors, Jolly Ranchers, and Jolly Rancher Lollipops. You can also concoct your own candy confections, like these ginger hard candies, to control the ingredient list.

As for what candies to avoid, besides gummy Ring Pops, many varieties of candy corn, gummy bears, jelly beans or treats containing marshmallows are made using animal by-products, and are therefore not vegan. However, there are plenty of chewy, gooey candies that are still vegan-friendly to satisfy sugar cravings. Other confections, such as a classic chocolate-based candy bar, are obviously not vegan because of their dairy content.