AVA was founded in 1999 by Len Torine. With no rulings or directions by the FDA on Vegan, Vegetarian or Plant-Based labeling, there was an opportunity to certify products. Over the past 20 years, AVA has certified products from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies representing categories that include food, beauty, supplements, and household products. AVA has worked with Taco Bell, Nordic Naturals, Nuun, Smartypants, Starbucks, Clorox, and Danone. AVA has grown with the primary objective of providing a widely recognized Certification Program that will enable vegetarian-minded people to make accurate food choices.
Today, there is an immense growth of Vegan, Vegetarian, Plant-Based, and Animal-Free products. We offer multiple Certifications for products. We work to give consumers accurate information so they can make the choices that are right for them.
AVA Certified Vegan
Product contains NO animal-sourced ingredients. This includes but is not limited to the following:
NO meat, fowl, fish, or insects
NO leather, wool, or silk
NO milk, eggs, honey, or bee products
Product is not processed with animal-sourced ingredients or animal by-products. This includes but is not limited to the following:
NO sugar filtered with animal bone char
NO animal-sourced enzymes, flavors, or coloring
NO ingredients clarified with animal-sourced products like gelatin
NO animal-derived genes are used to make the product or ingredients of the product.
Product Owner has not conducted or commissioned animal testing on the product or its ingredients.
AVA Certified Vegetarian
Product contains NO animal-sourced ingredients where the animal is killed or slaughtered.
NO meat, fowl, fish, or insects
NO leather products
Product may contain animal-sourced ingredients where the animal is neither killed nor harmed.
May contain milk, eggs, honey, and wool
Product is not processed with animal-sourced ingredients where the animal is killed or slaughtered.
NO sugar filtered with animal bone char
NO animal-sourced flavors, coloring, or enzymes where an animal is killed
NO ingredients clarified with animal-sourced products like gelatin
Product Owner has not conducted or commissioned animal testing on the product or its ingredients.
AVA Certified Plant-Based
Product is made of a majority of plant-based ingredients.
80% or more of a product’s ingredients by weight must come from plant ingredients including water
Up to 20% of the product’s ingredients by weight may come from acceptable non-plant-based ingredients called out below
Product contains NO animal derived genes used to make product or ingredients of product.
Product contains NO animal-sourced ingredients. This includes but is not limited to the following:
NO meat, fowl, fish, or insects
NO leather, wool, or silk
NO milk, eggs, honey, or bee products
Product is not processed with animal-sourced ingredients or animal by-products. This includes but is not limited to the following:
NO sugar filtered with animal bone char
NO animal-sourced enzymes, flavors, or coloring
NO ingredients clarified with animal-sourced products like gelatin
Product may contain other non-animal AND non-plant sourced ingredients.
MAY contain minerals, microorganisms, enzymes, fungi, algae, flavors, coloring, gums and acids and water
Product Owner has not conducted or commissioned animal testing on the product or its ingredients.
AVA Certified Animal-Free
Product contains NO animal-sourced ingredients. This includes but is not limited to the following:
NO meat, fowl, fish, or insects
NO leather, wool, or silk
NO milk, eggs, honey, or bee products
Product is not processed with animal-sourced ingredients or animal by-products. This includes but is not limited to the following:
NO sugar filtered with animal bone char
NO animal-sourced enzymes, flavors, or coloring
NO ingredients clarified with animal-sourced products like gelatin
MAY contain animal-derived genes used to make the product or ingredients of the product.
Product Owner has not conducted or commissioned animal testing on the product or its ingredients.
VeganSu® Vegetarian Standard：
● Vegetarian：Does not contain animal food, and does not include animal by-products such as eggs, milk, honey.
● Vegan：Free of animal food and animal by-products (including eggs, milk, honey, bird's nest, etc.).
● Vegan Buddhist: Free of animal food, free of animal by-products (including eggs, milk, honey, bird's nest, etc.), free of allium plants (such as garlic, shallots, steamed buns, leeks, Xingqu) and no coriander.
