Starburst was formerly known as Opal Fruits. It is a fruit-flavored soft taffy candy produced by The Wrigley Company, now a subsidiary of Mars, Incorporated.
Starburst came under the ownership of Mars when the company got hold of the original manufacturer’s production. Tropical, Sour, FaveREDs, Watermelon, Very Berry, Superfruit, Summer Blast, and Original are just some of the Starburst flavors.
Blackcurrant, orange, lemon and lime, and strawberry were the first flavors by the company, which were introduced in the United Kingdom in 1960.
On the other hand, strawberry, pineapple, banana, cherry, mango melon, and kiwi are among the tropical flavors.
In the United Kingdom, Starburst is manufactured using packaging and suitable ingredients for vegetarians.
The UK website for Starburst mentions that the product is ‘Suitable for Vegetarians’ and contains no artificial flavors and colorings.
However, Starburst in the United States is known for consisting of gelatin that is not vegan in its ingredients list.
The gelatin used in the Starburst is known to be non-vegan, which makes it unsuitable for use by vegetarians and vegans.
On the other hand, Starburst in the United Kingdom is vegan-friendly. Moreover, the unwrapped ones use fruit puree instead of gelatin, making them unsuitable for vegans.
What kind of gelatin is in Starburst?
In the US, the manufacturer uses gelatin as one of the main ingredients, which may be derived from the by-products of beef, fish, or pork.
Are starbursts pork free?
The Starburst gummies in the United States consist of pork gelatin as far as animal by-products are considered. However, it’s known their remaining products use beef gelatin.
Starburst products contain gelatin derived from beef and pork. Gelatin is an animal by-product which is made from the collagen of animals.
The substance is derived from the connective tissue found in the bones and skin of animals such as pigs, chickens, and domesticated cattle.
In 1960, Peter Philips established Opal Fruits as a brand under Mars in the United Kingdom. Peter Philips had won £5 in competition and used to go by the name Peter Pfeffer back then.
Strawberry, lemon, orange, and lime were the four first flavors produced at their plant in Slough, Berkshire.
M&M’s Fruit Chewies were the first Opal Fruits products introduced in the United States in 1967, followed by Starburst in the late 1960s.
No one’s certain about the origin of the name Starburst, but it seems like it was most likely chosen to reflect the burst of flavor experienced with each mouthful and to attract the masses at a time when interest in space was at an all-time high during the Space Race.
When Starburst was first brought to the United States as Opal Fruits the brand, most of the original flavors were in the initial line-up.
However, in early 1980, the lime flavor was replaced with the cherry one in the US. After that, Opal Fruits launched its tropical variant, Sunshine Flavors.
The name Sunshine Flavors was later changed to Tropical Opal Fruits. In Europe and the United Kingdom, the company introduced a blackcurrant flavor by combining the lemon and lime flavors into one to make room for the other flavor.
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