Labelling of ingredients is very good here, by law (and the law is generally observed). The main problem is that the ingredients lists are usually in small print, and there's no commonly-used symbol for vegan products. So you have to squint, read all the ingredients, and know which ingredients are vegan.
hi, if you shop at Aldi supermarkets (i guess they have them in SA) then the relevant products are all marked "suitable for vegetarians and vegans." But i think that is a European practice rather than an Australian one. Generally I don't see those words on products in major supermarkets (Coles and Woolworths have a near duopoly here), so you have to read the labels for yourself. You will however find some suitably-marked "vegan" products in these big supermarket chain stores. For example, Orgran is a brand of food that is all vegan, and is marked on the pack as such. Look in the health food section and you will find other brands too. Last time i was in Adelaide there was a great little health food store opposite the central fresh food produce markets. i think it is across the road from the markets going south. They have lots of yummy vegan-marked foods there. happy travels, Simon :-)
re: breads - the majority of breads in South Australia are vegan. Check the ingredients but we have hosts of awesome wholemeal / grain / seed varieties.
Our sugar is not filtered through bone char so you are safe there.
As everyone said - labelling is good but for the best supermarket in South Australia for a huge range of vegan items try Norwood IGA Foodland. Vegan cheeses, ice creams, cream, vegetable butters, soy yoghurt, - and the fresh produce is awesome too.
hey~
you can also check out the Ethical Consumer Guide, they have a free .pdf with lots of details about things like Animal-testing, Fair Trade and Environmental issues relating to just about anything you can buy in Australian supermarkets
it can be found here: http://www.ethical.org.au/downloads/
Also, don't forget the Veg Society SA, [vegsa.org.au]
and that there is an annual Vegan festival held in Adelaide on 14 November!!
[veganfestival.info]
There are vegan logos on some supermarket items and products in the supermarket must say "contains milk products" "contains egg" "contains wheat" "contains nuts" "contains gluten" so this may help. A lot of products say "may contain traces of milk or milk products" etc and this means the product is manufactured in a factory that has other products which contain those products. The warning is for severe allergy sufferers and does not mean they have put that ingredient in the product, just that it was nearby when making or packaging the product. The health food section is usually the one which has the most vegan products.
Most bread are vegan friendly. There is occasionally milk or egg in some products, but you can just read the ingredients for those. As for Emulsifers which might not be vegan friendly, I have obtained information that all Woolworths bakery, Coles bakery, Helgas bread, Goodman Fielder's products like Buttercup brand are all vegan friendly. Baker's Delight bread store has many vegan products, not only their bread, but also their baked apple logs, finger buns, jam scroll, coffee scroll are all vegan. The exceptions at Bakers Delight are if it says chocolate, caramel, cheese, meat, sticky or scone then it contains dairy or egg and they have a list of ingredients at the ready at everystore. We like to get the apple and walnut log or scroll for when we have guests over for afternoon tea.
Also - there is no labelling that says they have to say contains animal products or by products but you might see some packaging that says "does not contain animal products or by-products" which is handy.
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