Tallow: Rendered Animal Fat in Foods and Soap

Tallow is fat rendered from cattle or sheep, so it is always animal-derived and a slaughter byproduct. That places it outside both vegan and vegetarian claims wherever it appears, including soaps that list it as sodium tallowate and fried foods that never name it on the menu. It is gluten-free, but its animal origin is the decisive point for clean-label claims.