Just eight companies received our best rating: Mr Organic, Lazy Day Foods, Island Bakery, Duchy Originals, John Lewis (Waitrose), Co-op, M&S and Ferrero (but not Burton’s which make most of its brands). The first four are small companies that provide products we considered to be environmental alternatives because they were vegan or organic. This doesn't mean they are without environmental criticisms though. Tax Avoidance

Phew. Now all that’s out of the way, let’s dive straight into the list of which biscuits are vegan in the UK and which have animal ingredients like milk and eggs. 1. BiscoffSugar production uses large amounts of land, and sugar companies have been linked to violent forced evictions of subsistence farmers across the world. Working conditions are poor, with low pay, long hours, and hazardous health conditions such as extreme heat. I was very disappointed with these, as someone else said they were like cardboard and not a patch on the original. I thought it would be a treat with less calories. I would rather go for the originals but eat them less often." Chrissie in a review on Sainsbury's ~ The Worst: Bottom Rated Biscuits ~

Burton’s Biscuit Company is leading the way in the sweet biscuit category by continuing to drive the agenda on sugar and calorie reduction. These are perfect for when your on a diet and Craving something sweet, as they are not as high in fat and taste good! I would highly recommend these, I think they taste amazing:-)" Anon review on Tesco A great biscuit, full of smooth chocolate chips. The texture of the biscuit is spot on, but be careful dipping in a drink, the chocolate chips means that the biscuit breaks easier than others! Calorie and Nutritional Information

Biscuit packaging and waste

The focus on public health often means that other ethical issues related to sugar are overlooked. As with cocoa, human rights abuses are widespread in sugar cane cultivation. The US Department of Labor reports likely child or forced labour in sugar cane production in 19 countries around the world, mainly in Asia and Latin America. If your looking for some other low syn biscuits and cakes but don't know where to start, you can easily calculate their syns with our syn calculatoror with the general rule of 20 calories to one syns to easily work out syns on the go. Choose slices - Choosing cake bars like Jaffa cakes or cake slices can help control your syns since the portion has already been divided in comparison to choosing a whole cake. The launch comes as Burton’s remains committed to providing high quality products that excite and delight customers, shoppers and consumers, whilst being part of a balanced diet.

Cake bars like Jaffa Cakes typically have between 2.5 syns and 7 syns, making them a great low syn cake treat you could eat up to 6 a day before using your whole daily syn allowance! So please be warned, I advise having two or three sweets at a time, or you could regret the decision to have a treat! You may want to reconsider giving children these sugar-free sweets and treats as a supposedly healthier alternative too. Very dunkable, these chocolate chip digestives are great for anyone who wants something sweeter than your average biscuit but doesn’t want too much chocolate. They’ve got a great light texture and are perfect with a cuppa. Calorie and Nutritional Information In the UK, all sugar beet grown by farmers is processed by British Sugar, owner of the Silver Spoon brand and a subsidiary of Associated British Foods which also owns Ryvita. In January 2021, British Sugar, together with the National Farmers’ Union, successfully lobbied the government for authorisation to use a pesticide containing the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam which has been banned by the EU for all outdoor use since 2018 because of its negative environmental impacts, particularly the harm it does to bees. The sugar beet crop was under threat from a potentially devastating disease called virus yellows. Sugar-free sweets, biscuits, and no added sugar chocolate; Wooohoooo! When looking in the shops, you may see items which are labelled as sugar-free and no added sugar, which is marketed as suitable for diabetics… Hurrah! All the naughty things you may be craving and yet no sugar to cause high blood sugar levels, which is something we are trying to avoid.As a diabetic I was looking forward to something which feels naughty after months on vegetables and salads. They aren't bad and certainly have lots of choc chips in." Looby54 in a review on Sainsbury's Amisa* ( Windmill Organics) – All crispbreads and spelt crispbreads (apart from cheese and pumpkin), dark chocolate corn cakes and rice cakes. (All palm oil free, but owned by Windmill, which uses palm oil.) Yildiz is the owner of Pladis Foods (who own United Biscuits), whose brands include McVitie’s, Crawford’s, Jacob’s and Carr’s biscuits. In a statement sent to Vegan Food & Living, Alice Boardman, Senior Brand Manager from Burton’s Biscuit Co explained: “Consumers are looking for easy-to-find vegan products that are more exciting than a plain biscuit and are not commanding the premium price often associated with vegan-friendly products.” Sugar made from beet is chemically identical to sugar made from cane, and the sweet stuff in your biscuits could come from either plant with no difference in the labelling.

Most other brands including supermarket own-brand biscuits scored a middle rating. However, Aldi and Spar received a worst.Whilst the texture of these reduced fat digestives gives them away as a healthy alternative, everything else about them makes your tastebuds tingle. They’re a great way of fulfilling your chocolate needs without overloading! Calorie and Nutritional Information Island Bakery, Lazy Day, Doves Farm and Windmill Organics (owner of Amisa and Biona) also receive a best rating. Love chocolate digestives but trying to be good? These biscuit thins have a very satisfying crunch. Just make sure you don’t dip them in your tea for as long. Calorie and Nutritional Information Both provide some financial and other benefits to producers who meet certain standards. This is significant because poverty and low cocoa prices have been identified as key factors in child labour. Fairtrade guarantees a minimum price to protect against low global market prices and also pays a premium which producers can invest in farm improvements and community projects. Rainforest Alliance does not guarantee a minimum price but recently introduced a premium, although it is only about half the size of that guaranteed by Fairtrade.