Tesco ‘seeking alternatives’ as some fruit not suitable for vegans

The supermarket confirmed that its oranges are non-vegan

Tesco has said it is “seeking alternatives” after it was called out for selling non-vegan fruit.

On Sunday 21 August, the supermarket confirmed that its oranges were labelled as “non-vegan” due to the application of post-harvest beeswax to the peels during the production process.

This means that the zest from orange peel, or even lemons and limes, would not be suitable for vegans to use in cooking.

The supermarket giant has now said that it is looking for alternatives to the wax and for some of its other fruit as this can contain shellac, a resin secreted by the female lac bug.

According to Retail Gazette, Tesco is working with suppliers to come up with an alternative.

The Independent has contacted Tesco for comment.

Beeswax is commonly used on the peels of citrus fruit as it can help keep the fruit fresher for longer.

Those following a vegan diet should look to buying organic fruit as this has not been treated for preservation.

It comes after a vegan advert from the supermarket was banned earlier this year for its “misleading” environmental message.

An advert promoting the supermarket’s vegan Plant Chef range was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority in June after the watchdog found it did not have “sufficient evidence to substantiate” the environmental claims it made.

In response, Tesco said the claims were “not, nor were they meant to be, absolute environmental claims, as they did not claim that the products were wholly sustainable or good for the planet”.