I was interested if any of the below might have been fortified with vitamin B12. The ones highlighted in yellow might have been, particularly Vitasoy - but I don't know more.
- Alnut Cream: a nut butter - ingredients: 100% nuts
"Alnut Cream" is also mentioned in the winter 1948 issue of The Vegan (magazine; page 10).
- Barbadoes sugar: I didn't think this would be fortified but I was unfamiliar with this term. It seems to be an alternative term for "Muscovado" sugar, i.e., brown (unrefined) cane sugar from (maybe but not necessarily) Barbados. Barbados/Barbadoes sugar is also mentioned four times in The Vegan (autumn 1950).
- Betox: a yeast extract similar to Marmite. Marmite nowadays is fortified with vitamin B12 but I don't know if Betox or Marmite were back in 1948.
This description of "Betox" is found (given by Kathleen Mayo herself) in The Vegan, spring 1948 issue (page 17):
It's also mentioned mentioned in the summer 1948 issue.
- Froment: This seems to be a wheat germ product, apparently not fortified with vitamin B12. The ad in the spring 1950 issue of The Vegan says "pure wheat embryo". So, it was probably just plain wheat germ.
There is an ad for "Froment" in the winter 1947 and spring 1948 issues of The Vegan ...
... and also on the back cover of the summer 1948 issue of The Vegan:
Ad for "Froment" in the autumn 1951 issue of The Vegan (see below). Ads for "Froment" are also in the spring 1952, summer 1952, autumn 1952, and winter 1952 issues.
- Frugrains (Fru-Grains; formerly called "Honey Grains"): This seems to have been some kind of sugar-sweetened breakfast cereal. There is no mention (that I have seen) of it having been fortified.
There is an ad for "Fru-Grains" in the spring 1947, summer 1947, autumn 1947, winter 1947, spring 1948, autumn 1948, winter 1948, and spring 1951 issues of The Vegan.
And there also is an ad for "Fru-Grains" in the autumn 1951 issue of The Vegan:
- Gelozone: This was a vegan alternative to gelatine based on carrageenan (here called "carragheen", see below). It seems unlikely that this was fortified with vitamins.
There is an ad for "Gelozone" in the spring 1947 and winter 1947 issues of The Vegan ...
and also the summer 1947 issue of The Vegan:
- Granose Saviand: I'm guessing it some kind of meat alternative. There is a Granose Foods ad in the summer 1977 issue of The Vegan which list "Saviand" among other products. It probably alludes to the French "sans viande", i.e., "without meat". Shurtleff & Aoyagi (2014) have a picture (see below) and write that this product was introduced in 1940 and that it was a "Meatless savoury".
- parkin: "(in Britain and New Zealand) a moist spicy ginger cake usually containing oatmeal" (Collins Dictionary [last accessed 25 June 2024 ])
- Pitman Nut Brawn: I'm guessing that this was some kind of nut loaf.
... and also the spring 1947 issue of The Vegan:
A more descriptive ad of the "Nut Brawn" (or "Nutmeat Brawn") is found in the summer 1948 issue of The Vegan:
- Pitman Nut Cream: a nut butter made, 100% nut-based. This was almost certainly not fortified.
The ad is also in the summer 1950 issue.
- Radiostol: Vitamin D2 (i.e., ergocaliferol), i.e., vegan vitamin D.
I found this photo online:
- Slippery Elm Food: A product by the company Thompson's that is still available today. The ingredients are: "Pre cooked Wheaten flour, Powdered Slippery Elm Bark, Sugar." Apparently, "Thompsons Slippery Elm Food has been around for over 100 years." (Victoria Health [last accessed 25 June 2024]/). It seems unlikely that this kind of product was ever fortified with vitamin B12.
- Soylac: This was a powdered vegan cow's milk alternative: a "vegetable milk in powder form made from soya flour and other cereal starches, being slightly sweetened with natural sugars and malt [...] This product is not yet on the retail market but is distributed privately by The Vegan Society to its members through local distributors. [...]" (The Vegan, autumn 1947 issue).
There is an ad for "Soylac (now called S.M.P)" in the summer 1950 issue of The Vegan:
("Soylac" is also mentioned - without much information - in a 2023 book chapter about "Vegan Consumption" as a "dairy alternative" and "vegetable milk" (Lamarche-Beauchesne 2023).)
- Vecon: I'm guessing, Vecon was a yeast extract, similar to Marmite or Yeastrel. It is mentioned in the summer 1950 and autumn 1950 issues of The Vegan. Like with Yeastrel and Marmite (back then), I don't know if it was fortified with vitamin B12.
- Vesop: This was a "concentrated liquid extract of pure vegetable origin", apparently not fortified with vitamins.
And there also is an ad for "Vesop" in the autumn 1951 issue of The Vegan.
Ads were also in the spring 1952, summer 1952, autumn 1952, and winter 1952 issues. I haven't checked later issues yet.
- Vitanut flakes: I'm not sure what they were. "Vitanut flakes" are mentioned, for example, in the summer 1949 issue of The Vegan.
- Vitanut Savoury: There is an ad for "Vitanut Savoury" in the summer 1949 issue of The Vegan:
- Vitasoy: This was some kind of cow's milk alternative. It seems,it was in powder form and it was fortified with vitamins, apparently.
This ad also appears in the summer 1949 issue of The Vegan. "Vitasoy" is also mentioned, for example, in the autumn 1951 issue of The Vegan.
- Weetabix: Weetabix is a breakfast cereal product still available today (as of 2024). It's not fortified with vitamin B12 and never seems to have been (?). As of 2024, it is fortified with several nutrients but not vitamin B12. Weetabix has been around since 1932, apparently. It is mentioned, for example, in the summer 1952 issue of The Vegan.
- Yeastrel: This was a yeast extract, something like Marmite. I don't know if it was fortified with vitamin B12. You can see an ad for it here, and there is no mention of it being fortified. Both Yeastrel and Marmite existed in the 1940s and 50s, it seems. "Yeastrel" is mentioned, for example, in the autumn 1951, spring 1952, spring 1960, and winter 1960 issues of The Vegan. You can find several photos of "Yeastrel" ads online. Yeastrel seems to have existed at least since the 1930s.
You can see a photo of Kathleen Mayo in the summer 1946 issue of The Vegan:
