Candy now contains animal byproducts

Berkshire, England -- A British-based candy manufacturer has drawn criticism from vegetarians for changing its ingredients to animal-derived whey.

The Mail on Sunday reported on Masterfoods, which reportedly produces 3 million Mars candy bars a day in Berkshire. In addition to Mars bars, Masterfoods also produces Snickers, Galaxy, Twix, Bounty and Milky Way bars.

Since the beginning of May, the confectioner announced it has been using rennet -- a substance extracted from the stomachs of slaughtered calves.

The Vegetarian Society has criticized Masterfoods for what they believe is an unnecessary change in ingredients.

"For some incomprehensible reason they are using animal products when all these items have previously been produced using vegetarian alternatives," a spokesman for the Vegetarian Society said.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.