Collagen powders: formats, sources and allergens

Collagen is an animal protein

Collagen used in supplements comes from animal sources, most often fish skin and scales or cattle hide and bone.

That makes source the first thing to read, because it decides suitability and allergen information at the same time.

Marine and bovine are the two common sources

The source is a factual statement about raw material. It is not a quality tier.

• Marine collagen: fish derived, so fish is an allergen that must be declared
• Bovine collagen: cattle derived, usually hide or bone
• Neither is vegetarian or vegan, whatever the rest of the pack says
• So called vegan collagen is not collagen, it is a mix of other ingredients

Hydrolysed, peptides and gelatine

Hydrolysed means the protein has been broken into shorter chains during processing. Collagen peptides is another name for the same processed material.

Gelatine is collagen that has been processed differently and sets as a gel, which is why it behaves differently in a drink.

• Hydrolysed collagen and collagen peptides describe the same processing step
• Gelatine gels when cool, hydrolysed powder generally does not
• Average molecular weight is sometimes quoted in daltons, as a processing figure

Types I, II and III

Type numbers describe which collagen structure the raw material mostly came from, and they follow the source.

Treat the type number as a description of origin, not as a benefit.

Read the protein row, not the pouch weight

A 300g pouch is not 300g of collagen protein once flavourings, sweeteners or added vitamins are in the mix.

The panel should state the portion weight and the collagen or protein content within it.

• Net weight of the pouch
• Stated portion in grams
• Collagen content in that portion, and protein content if given
• Portions per pouch, then cost per portion

Allergens and added ingredients

Fish is a declarable allergen, so a marine product must say so. Flavoured powders can also carry milk, soya or sulphite declarations depending on their additions.

Where a pack is silent on suitability, that silence is not a clearance.

• Check the bold allergen wording in the ingredients list
• Check for added vitamin C, hyaluronic acid or flavour systems
• Unflavoured powders have the shortest lists and compare most easily

Compare the formats on this site

Three listings in Collagen, Fibre and Cultures let you compare source and added ingredients directly.

• Marine Collagen Powder, a fish derived source
• Bovine Collagen Powder, a cattle derived source
• Collagen plus Vitamin C, where a second ingredient is added