Is PUMPKIN & SPICE Vegan?

The Ingredient Breakdown

As a food scientist, I look past the marketing buzzwords like "spice" and "pears" to the structural ingredients that define the product. When analyzing the label for PUMPKIN & SPICE, the vegan status becomes immediately clear due to two primary ingredients.

The main culprits are pasteurized skim milk and pasteurized cream. These are standard dairy ingredients. Skim milk provides protein structure and sweetness without the heaviness of fat, while cream is added to restore the mouthfeel and richness that the skim milk removes. Both are direct animal byproducts, making the item unsuitable for a vegan diet.

While the inclusion of pears, cane sugar, and spices (cinnamon and nutmeg) sounds wholesome, they exist within a dairy base. It is also worth noting that while cane sugar is technically plant-derived, strict vegans sometimes avoid it due to the processing methods which can involve bone char. However, the definitive dealbreaker here remains the milk and cream content.

Nutritional Value

From a nutritional standpoint, PUMPKIN & SPICE is designed as an indulgent treat rather than a health food. The combination of cream and cane sugar drives both the calorie count and the saturated fat content. You can expect a profile typical of a full-fat yogurt dessert.

The pears do contribute some fiber and natural fruit sugars, but they are often suspended in the sugary matrix. If you are monitoring your sugar intake, this product may not fit well into a low-sugar diet. However, it does provide calcium and protein thanks to the milk content, which is a benefit for non-vegan vegetarians.