Is your toothpaste made from non-vegetarian ingredients? Know how to spot the difference between veg and non-veg toothpaste

A toothpaste, like any other consumable, can be either veg or non-veg, depending upon the ingredients used. Here's how to find out whether your toothpaste is veg or non-veg.

Brushing our teeth is a crucial part of our daily routine without which we cannot imagine to start our day. But have you ever wondered whether your favorite toothpaste contains animal ingredients or is made from plants? Interestingly a toothpaste, like any other consumable, can be either veg or non-veg, depending upon the ingredients used.

Here’s how to spot the difference between a veg and non-veg toothpaste;

What is a non-veg toothpaste?

In layman’s terms, a toothpaste made from ingredients obtained from animals is a non-veg product and might be offensive for people belonging to certain religions, including Hinduism and Islam, especially in India. There are several foreign brands which use animal ingredients in their toothpaste.

However, it must be noted that Indian brands usually use natural ingredients, such as those obtained from plants, in their toothpaste, so its generally safer to use a made in India toothpaste, if you’re worried about animal products being used in your oral hygiene products.

Why some brands make non-veg toothpaste?

Indian brands, or even foreign brands who manufacture the product in India, generally use products derived from plants such as cloves, mint, and other natural herbs to prepare toothpaste. However, some global brands might used animal derivatives like glycerin obtained from animal fat or calcium phosphate extracted from animal bones in their product.

The primary reason from making non-veg toothpaste is cost, because animal derived products and byproducts are cheaper and easily available. Secondly, animal ingredients give the toothpaste a better texture and a much-longer shelf life.

How to find out if your toothpaste is veg or non-veg?

This information is usually provided on the both the outer and inner packaging of the product. If you read “100% vegetarian” printed on the packet with a green mark, then the toothpaste is certainly vegetarian. But if that part is marked in red, it means the product contains animal derivatives and is categorized as non-veg.