Animal byproducts?!

Animal byproducts?

When I call a company and ask them if their products contain any animal byproducts, and they say no (and they also say they don't test on animals), the product should be okay to use right?
Does that mean it doesn't contain animal PRODUCTS right? Do products and the byproducts mean the same?

Unfortunately just asking them that question leaves all kinds of loopholes they can wiggle through! A classic example was the supposedly vegan marshmallows that were made with "Non-animal gelatin" made from animal bones. The loophole was that under Kashrut (Jewish dietary law) the gelatin had been so heavily processed and purified that they got a Rabbi to declare the gelatin "non-animal".

Here's the question you want to ask, do it in writing so that the answer they give is legally binding<evil grin>:

"Does your product contain any animal ingredients, or any ingredients processed with animal products, or any ingredients that originally derived from an animal source and/or are any products originally from an animal source used in the manufacture of your product?"

One example would be asking a sugar company your question and they can answer that there are no animal or animal byproducts in their sugar, even though they use bone char (dried and then burned animal bones!) to make their sugar.

I can ask my question to a sugar company that says they don't use bone char and IF they answer it I'll get told that while they don't use bone char (a VERY specific type of carbon) they do use carbon from other animal sources!

If a company can find a way to weasel their way around a question they will!