Fiona is the editor of Plantpuree, a website that celebrates vegan living. With over 20 years in diet & fitness, fashion, and beauty, she brings a wealth of knowledge and a unique perspective to her work and writing on veganism.
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Golden Nuggets is a sweet maize cereal from Nestle that was first introduced to the UK in the 1970s. At a quick glance, Golden Nuggets’ ingredients appear vegan. Cereal grains are from plants – right? So what’s the problem? Are Golden Nuggets vegan or not? Let’s take a closer look at this popular cereal to find out.
Table of Contents
Are Golden Nuggets Vegan?
NO, Golden Nuggets are not vegan. This is because they include honey within their ingredients which is produced by bees, making it non-vegan. If you are a vegan and looking for alternatives, check out Envirokidz Peanut Butter Panda Puffs or Asda Multigrain Hoops which are both confirmed to be vegan-friendly cereal options.
Golden Nuggets Ingredients
Golden Nuggets Calories per 30g Serving: 113kcal (1)
| Whole Grain Wheat (35.3%), Wheat Flour (26.5%), Sugar, Maize Semolina, Whole Grain Maize Flour, Glucose Syrup, HONEY, Invert Sugar Syrup, Calcium Carbonate, Salt, Molasses, Sunflower Oil, Colour: Carotene, Antioxidant: Tocopherols, Iron, Flavouring, Vitamin B3, B5, B9, B6, B2 |
Non-Vegan Ingredients In Golden Nuggets
There is one non-vegan ingredient in Golden Nuggets which is honey. Vegans often overlook honey as bees produce it. Commercial beekeeping practices can harm the health of bees. According to the Vegan Society, conventional beekeepers aim to harvest the maximum amount of honey. When farmers remove honey from a hive, they replace it with a sugar substitute which is worse for the bees’ health since it lacks essential micro-nutrients of honey. (2)
Are Golden Nuggets Healthy?
The simple answer is NO. Although, Golden Nuggets is fortified with a number of vitamins and minerals it is high in sugar and low in fibre.
Golden Nuggets contains 6.7 g of sugar per serving which is considered too high by the USDA. (3) Ideally, you should choose a cereal with under 5 grams of sugar per serving and at least 3 grams of fibre per serving. (4) In addition, The NHS and FDA recommend at least 30g of fibre a day, and a serving of Golden Nuggets provides just 1.6g – a mere 5.3% of the recommended daily amount. (5,6)
Frequently Asked Questions
No, Golden Nuggets are not gluten free as they contain wheat. For a vegan, gluten-free alternative try Nature’s Path Gorilla Munch Corn Puffs.
No, Golden Crisp is not vegan as it includes Vitamin D3 within its ingredients. (7) For a vegan puffed wheat cereal alternative choose Arrowhead Mills Puffed Wheat Cereal.
Related Guides
Complete Guide to Vegan Cereal
Are Apple Cinnamon Cheerios Vegan?
Sources
(1) https://groceries.asda.com/
(2) https://www.vegansociety.com/
