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Is it vegan? · Gellan gum (E418)

Last reviewed July 16, 2026

Is gellan gum vegan?

Vegan. Gellan gum (E418) is produced by bacterial fermentation, so it is vegan. It gels and suspends in plant milks, jellies, and desserts.

Gellan gum is a gelling agent grown by bacteria, not scraped from an animal. It is what keeps the cocoa evenly suspended in your oat milk.

Where it hides

  • Plant milks (keeps solids suspended)
  • Vegan jellies and desserts
  • Confectionery
  • Some fortified drinks

What it is

Gellan gum is a gelling agent made the same way as xanthan gum, by a microbe rather than an animal or plant tissue.

Primary source 01 / 01

Gellan gum is a water-soluble anionic polysaccharide produced by the bacterium Sphingomonas elodea

Wikipedia encyclopedia entry Gellan gum, 2025

In your plant milk

Gellan gum shows up in plant milks to keep added calcium and cocoa evenly suspended, and in vegan jellies and desserts as a gelling agent. Being a fermentation product, it is vegan, and it was quickly adopted as an agar substitute in both food and laboratory settings.

  • Xanthan gum (E415) Xanthan gum is a thickener grown by bacteria on sugar. It is almost always vegan, with a rare asterisk over what the bacteria were fed.
  • Agar (agar-agar, E406) Agar is the vegan answer to gelatin, a firm jelly set from seaweed. It has been doing this job in Asian kitchens for a very long time.
  • Carrageenan (E407) Carrageenan is a thickener pulled from red seaweed. It has its critics on other grounds, but the vegan question is not one of them.
  • How vegan eggs are made: mung beans, fermented ovalbumin, and the chemistry of each Guides · A real egg does five separate jobs in a kitchen, and no single vegan substitute does all five, which is why the category split into two different products.

Frequently asked

Is E418 vegan?

Yes. E418 is gellan gum, produced by bacterial fermentation, so it is plant-compatible and vegan.

Why is gellan gum in plant milk?

It suspends added minerals and cocoa so they do not settle at the bottom, and it adds body. It is a vegan ingredient.

The sources

What each verdict rests on. Read them yourself.

  • Gellan gum · Wikipedia, 2025 · encyclopedia overview

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