Surprising foods that contain animal products

Bagels and bread products

Many bread products contain an amino acid known as L-cysteine, which is used as a softening agent. L-cysteine is derived from either human hair or Hog or poultry feathers, and it can be found in many popular brand-name products. Businesses that have acknowledged they've used L-cysteine include Lender's, Einstein Bros., McDonald's and Pizza Hut.

L-cysteine (sometimes shown as E920 on food labels) is used as a dough conditioner and strengthener, meaning the dough can be stretched out to make a pizza crust, for example. L-cysteine can also help extend the shelf life of commercial breads. L-cysteine is an amino acid (building block of proteins) and is perfectly safe for human consumption.

Most L-cysteine is sourced from China, where feathers are collected from farms, and human hairs from the floors of barbershops. The feathers and hairs are processed in Chinese factories, where L-cysteine is extracted in a chemical process.

Beer and wine 

Isinglass, a gelatin-like substance collected from fish bladders is used in the clarification process of many beers and wines. Other agents used for the process of fining include egg white albumen, gelatin and casein.

Candy 

Numerous foods contain gelatin, a protein derived from the collagen in cow or pig bones, skin and connective tissues. It's often used as a thickening or stabilizing agent and can be found in a variety of candies, including Altoids, gummy candies and Starburst chews, among others.

Also, many red candies contain a dye made from the extracts of dried bodies of the Coccus cacti bugs. The ingredient is often listed as carmine, cochineal or carminic acid.

Yogurt

Dannon's strawberry yogurt is colored using an additive made from crushed bugs. 

The yogurt maker Dannon has been under fire for using carmine (a red color additive made from crushed beetles) in its product, although its far from the only company to use the stuff.

Caesar dressing 

Most Caesar salad dressings contain anchovy paste

Jell-O 

It's fairly common knowledge that Jell-O contains gelatin

Marshmallows 

Gelatin strikes again

Non-dairy creamer 

Although it has non-dairy in its name, many such creamers contain casein, a protein derived from milk.

Omega-3 products 

Many products with labels that boast their heart-healthy ingredients contain omega-3 fatty acids derived from fish. For example, Tropicana's Hearth Healthy orange juice's label lists tilapia, sardine and anchovy as ingredients.

Peanuts

Some brands of peanuts, such as Planters dry roasted peanuts, also contain gelatin because the substance helps salt and other spices adhere to the nuts.

Potato chips

Some flavored potato chips, especially those flavored with powdered cheese, can contain casein, whey or animal-derived enzymes.

Refined sugar

Sugar isn't naturally white, so manufacturers process it using bone char, which is made from the bones of cattle. To avoid sugar filtered with bone char, purchase unrefined sugar or buy from brands that don't use bone-char filters.
The refining processes for both white and brown sugar often use bone char, a granular material from animal ashes. It gives sugar its white color.

Refried beans

Many canned refried beans are made with hydrogenated lard, so check labels to ensure you're buying vegetarian beans.

Vanilla-flavored foods

Although it's rare, some foods are flavored with Castoreum, a beaver anal secretion. As gross at that sounds, the FDA classifies it as GRAS, or "generally recognized as safe," and Castoreum is typically listed as "natural flavoring." The additive is most often used in baked goods as a vanilla substitute, but it's also been used in alcoholic beverages, puddings, ice cream, candy and chewing gum.

Cake mixes
Cake mixes sometimes contain beef fat, according to Ann Byrn's book, "The Cake Mix Doctor." Many call for oil or shortening while others just add dehydrated versions of these to minimize the additional ingredients required. Hostess, a confectionery company which recently went under new management, also puts beef fat in their famous cupcakes.

Red candy
Red cochineal beetles, when dried and crushed, produce a powder called carmine, which is used as an all-encompassing dye in red foods like candy, ice cream, and yogurt. Though it previously slipped under the radar as "artificial coloring," the FDA has required manufacturers to explicitly list carmine on food labels since early 2011.

Edible shellac, also known as confectioner's glaze, coats most hard, shiny candy, with the notable exception of M&Ms. It's made from the excretions of female lac bugs (Kerria lacca).

Non Food Items:

Perfume
Some scents, especially those that smell like vanilla, list castoreum as an ingredient. Castoreum comes from beavers' castor sacs — a gland located between the animal's pelvis and the base of its tail.

Plastic bags

Many plastics, like commercial shopping bags, contain chemicals often referred to as "slip agents," which are derived from the stearic acid in animal fat. They essentially prevent the polymers from sticking to metals during manufacturing and clinging to each other afterward. Some bike tires also contain these elements.

Downy
Downy, the detergent endorsed by the snuggly child, contains dihydrogenated tallow dimethyl ammonium chloride — or a derivative of rendered cattle, sheep, and horse fat mixed with ammonium. This process creates a quaternary ammonium compound, or a quat, which basically coats your clothes in lipids, making them feel soft.

Nail polish

Shimmery cosmetics, like nail polish or lipstick, contain guanine (sometimes listed as "pearl essence"), one of the four base components of RNA and DNA. Companies obtain it from fish (notably, herring) scales.

Crayons
As part of the rendering industry, which disposes of otherwise unused animal waste, the creation of crayons often includes animal fat, according to a 2004 Congressional report.

Paraffin is the main ingredient in the most popular crayons, but not many would expect mammalian byproducts in children's art supplies.

Cigarettes

Hemoglobin derived from pig's blood is — or at least once was — included in some cigarette filters.