Vegan Trademark standards

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The Vegan Trademark is the authentic international vegan standard and is managed by The Vegan Society; the charity that created the word 'vegan' back in 1944. Our dedicated and experienced vegan team check each product application against the below criteria, working with manufacturers and suppliers across a range of fields to ensure that each product meets the highest vegan standards. The Vegan Trademark is renewed on a yearly basis to ensure we have the most up to date information on all the products we certify.

Animals


The Vegan Society understands the word 'animal' to refer to the entire animal kingdom. That is all vertebrates and all multicellular invertebrates. 'Animal' can refer to a species or an individual; and is used as a noun or an adjective, as required. Unless otherwise stated, it usually means non-human animals.

Animal ingredients


The manufacture and/or development of the product, and its ingredients, must not involve or have involved, the use of any animal product, by-product or derivative.

Animal testing


The development and/or manufacture of the product, and its ingredients, must not involve or have involved, testing of any sort on animals conducted at the initiative of the company or on its behalf, or by parties over whom the company has effective control. 

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)


The development and/or production of GMOs must not have involved animal genes or animal-derived substances. Products put forward for trademark registration that contains or may contain any GMOs must be labelled as such.

Kitchen and hygiene standards


Any dishes that are to be labelled vegan must be prepared separately from non-vegan dishes. At a minimum, this means thoroughly washing surfaces and utensils before using for vegan cooking. We strongly recommend obtaining a separate set of cleaning utensils for this purpose.

We ask for the awareness of the risk of cross-contamination from non-vegan sources in your kitchen or production line and that the Trademark holder takes all reasonable and practical steps to eliminate this. We've made the above short video to help explain a little more about our cross-contamination requirements for restaurant dishes or menu items.

Reg. Charity No: 279228 Company Reg. No: 01468880 Copyright © 1944 - 2024 The Vegan Society