Ocean Spray makes a variety of different types of Fruit-related products, their two most popular being juices and their dried fruits. Well and of course their fresh cranberries, but that’s a given. The fresh Cranberries are Vegan.
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Beyond those two products they also sell canned sauces, energy drinks, sparkling drinks, infused waters, and non-alcoholic cock-tail flavored beverages called “mocktails.”
So which of their products are Vegan? Do any of them contain any sneaky non-vegan ingredients like D3 from sheep’s wool?
Are Ocean Spray Juices Vegan?
I’d group it in the same category as some white sugars, where it’s not particularly horrendous to consume, but it’s not exactly entirely Vegan.
The reason I say this is because Ocean Spray has come out and said that they filter their juices using bovine Gelatin to make them the “clear” color that they turn out to be rather than cloudy. The same process is used by many other Juice companies, especially in the case of Apple Juice, as it makes it clear rather than cloudy like Apple Cider.
But in the end none of the Gelatin remains in the product, and the Gelatin largely doesn’t contribute to the slaughter of animals, so in my book it’s not exactly vegan, but it’s not nearly on the same level as eating meat, dairy-products, etc.
I would and do simply avoid it, but if someone offered a vegan some I wouldn’t condemn them for accepting it.
Are Ocean Spray Snacks Vegan?
All normal dried fruit is considered vegan.
The non-vegan options are the Chocolate, Yogurt covered, or Granola Craisins, all trail mixes, and possibly the pomegranate-infused juice craisins, as they may or may not have had the juice processed through bovine-gelatin (as mentioned in the Juice section) as that’s common for pomegranate juice as well. The probiotic blend is also questionable because milk is typically the first source used for probiotics.
Are Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauces Vegan?
These Should be Vegan as they don’t use their bovine-infused juices to make it. Instead they actually cook down the cranberries…and add in some sugar and high-fructose corn syrup (yum!).
I’d still recommend simply buying a bag of cranberries and cooking them down yourself. It’s a bit messy, but comes out way better. You can also reduce the sugar with various sugar-replacements if you’re not big on sugar.
Are Ocean Spray Sparking Waters and Energy Drinks Vegan?
If it has cranberry or pomegranate in it then it’s arguably non-vegan, albeit in a more “minor” way than other non-vegan things I’d personally still avoid it and not buy it myself or actively drink it. See the “Juice” section above on why most of Ocean Spray’s Mocktails, Infused waters, and other similar products aren’t vegan.
