confectionery glaze

Confectioner’s glaze, the name often used for shellac by candy makers, is composed of approximately 35% shellac (purified lac resin). The rest are volatile organic compounds which evaporate off during manufacture.

In foods, shellac is most commonly used as a coating or glaze on confections, chewing gum, fruit, and coffee beans. Lac dye, red like carmine, may be used as a coloring in foods and beverages.

As a general rule, any hard-coated, shiny candy contains a shellac coating or glaze (M&Ms™ is one notable exception.) Shellac may appear on the label under different names. The two most common ones in use today are “resinous glaze” or “confectioner’s glaze.” In general, all Easter candy (eggs and jelly beans) are coated. Halloween candy (candy corn) is as well.

There are many who use it, even on candies that you may not suspect to be coated with it. Below is a partial list.

Confections Containing Shellac

v  Hershey’s Whopper’s Malted Milk Balls™

v  Hershey’s Milk Duds™

v  Nestle’s Raisinettes™

v  Nestle’s Goober’s™

v  Tootsie Roll Industry’s Junior Mints™ (NOT Tootsie Rolls)

v  Tootsie Roll Industry’s Sugar Babies™

v  Jelly Belly™ jelly beans, mint crèmes

v  Godiva’s™ Dark Chocolate Almond Bar; Dark Chocolate Cherries; Milk Chocolate Cashews; White Chocolate Pearls; Milk Chocolate Pearls. (This is a partial list; consult with Godiva about specific items.)

v  Gertrude Hawk’s™ chocolate-covered nuts and raisins; cupcake sprinkles; decorative cake pieces

v  Russell Stover’s™ jelly beans; NOT in their chocolate-covered cherries or mint patties

v  Skittles™ and Starburst™: no shellac, but they do contain gelatin (an animal-derived ingredient)

Shellac has GRAS status by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which means that it is generally recognized as safe in foods. If used as a fruit or vegetable coating, it may be labeled as lac resin or as shellac. It is also approved for use in products certified as organic by The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).