Vegan
How we decideSodium lactate is vegan. Producers neutralize fermented lactic acid with sodium hydroxide, and the fermentation runs on plant sugar such as corn dextrose or cane and beet sucrose. The salt is not a milk ingredient and carries no milk protein.
Sodium lactate is the sodium salt of lactic acid, supplied as a clear solution of about 60 percent strength. In food it preserves meat and holds moisture.
Ingredient Data
Vegan
E325
Sodium 2-hydroxypropanoate; Lactic acid sodium salt; INS 325
Producers ferment sugar from corn, sugarcane or sugar beet with lactic acid bacteria, purify the lactic acid and neutralize it with sodium hydroxide.
In the EU a Group I additive permitted at quantum satis in most processed foods, including meat preparations; in cooked meats it inhibits Listeria growth.
Labels read E325 or sodium lactate and name no sugar. A USDA report lists whey among possible fermentation sugars, so a supplier's vegan statement settles a dairy-sugar case.
The salt itself holds no lactose or milk protein. Its lactic acid is fermented from sugar; a USDA report names corn dextrose, cane or beet sucrose and starch, and lists whey as a possible substrate.
No. Sodium stearoyl lactylate (E481) is an emulsifier built on stearic acid, which can come from animal fat. Sodium lactate (E325) has no fatty acid part.