Is Calcium Citrates (E333) Vegan?

Fortified plant milks aim to match dairy milk's calcium content, around 120 mg per 100 ml. Three mineral salts do that job: calcium carbonate, tricalcium phosphate, and calcium citrate. Calcium citrate has an advantage in absorption. Calcium carbonate needs stomach acid to dissolve, so it works best taken with food and poorly in people on acid-suppressing medication.

Citrate dissolves without that help, which is why supplement makers recommend it for older adults and for anyone on a proton pump inhibitor. A carton that lists calcium carbonate will usually tell you to shake it, because the mineral settles. Whichever salt a brand chooses, all three are mineral in origin and vegan, and seaweed-derived calcium from Lithothamnion is a fourth option that is algal.

Low-methoxyl pectin sets with calcium instead of with sugar and acid, which is the basis of reduced-sugar jam. Calcium citrate supplies those ions in a controlled way, since it dissolves slowly and avoids the instant gelling that a fast calcium salt would cause. Canned tomatoes, cherries, and other soft fruit use calcium salts as firming agents. The calcium crosslinks pectin in the fruit's own cell walls and keeps the pieces intact through heat processing. Tofu is the other well-known calcium application. The usual coagulant there is calcium sulfate. Whichever calcium salt appears on a tofu label, it will be mineral, and tofu's calcium content comes largely from that step.