Is Pectin Safe for Vegetarians?

Pectin is often used to make jellies and jams.

Pectin is often used to make jellies and jams.

Additives and artificial ingredients in processed foods often have names that tell consumers little about where the ingredient came from. If you're following a vegetarian diet, you want to be sure that none of the ingredients you eat are derived from animal products. Some foods with a gelatin-like consistency, such as jams, are usually safe to eat, while some others are not.


If you're following a vegetarian diet, you'll be avoiding many, if not all, animal products. There are a few different types of vegetarian diets, so depending on your style of vegetarianism, you'll need to avoid different ingredients. According to, lacto-ovo vegetarians omit meat, fish and poultry from their diet, but they still eat eggs and dairy. Ovo-vegetarians eat eggs but not dairy, while lacto-vegetarians eat dairy but not eggs. Vegans avoid any product that comes from an animal.


Pectin is a gelatin-like ingredient that is commonly used to thicken and gel jams, jellies and preserves. It's found naturally in fruits such as apples, plums, gooseberries and oranges. Pectin is extracted from these fruits with heat and acid and then processed into a liquid or powder that you can buy to can preserves at home. It's a water-soluble compound that absorbs liquid, which is why it's helpful for setting jellies.

Safe to Eat

Because pectin is derived from fruits and has no added ingredients, it's allowed for anyone following a vegetarian or vegan diet. However, not every food that contains pectin is necessarily something vegetarians would want to eat. Some milk products, yogurts, beverages, protein drinks or health products contain pectin as a thickener, but such items may or may not be allowed for your type of vegetarian diet depending on the other ingredients they may have. Read the labels of all foods to look for ingredients you want to avoid.


Not all foods with a gelatinous nature are made with pectin. For example, gelatin is often used to thicken desserts, soups, candies and jellies. Unlike fruit-derived pectin, gelatin is not something a vegetarian wants to consume. It's a protein made from processing beef or pork bones, cartilage, tendons and tissues, according to the "Food Lover's Companion." If a product contains gelatin, you'll want to avoid it.

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