Vanillin: Vegan Vanilla and the Castoreum Myth

Most vanillin is made synthetically from guaiacol, from wood-pulp lignin, or by microbial fermentation — all plant- or microbe-based and compatible with vegan and vegetarian claims. It is gluten-free. The persistent story that vanilla flavor comes from castoreum, a beaver secretion, almost never applies to modern food: castoreum is rare and costly, and a review would catch it through the natural-flavor declaration.