These Clark Baked Beans Taste Like Bacon. There’s No Pork Inside.

There is something wonderfully strange about a can of baked beans that says “bacon flavour” on the label but contains no bacon — and no meat at all.

We noticed the Clark The Canadian Baked Beans with Maple & Bacon Flavours while looking at the ingredient list and had the obvious question: what exactly is making these beans taste like bacon?

The answer from Clark is surprisingly simple

We contacted Aliments Ouimet-Cordon Bleu, the company behind Clark, and asked specifically whether the product contained pork or any pork-derived ingredient, including in its natural smoked bacon flavour.

The company’s consumer response representative confirmed it in writing to QuebecCity101: the bacon flavour contains “no pork or meat,” and there is “no pork or meat in the whole product.”

So yes, these are bacon-flavoured baked beans. And no, there is no bacon in them.

What is actually in the can?

The label uses the language “natural smoked bacon flavour,” which is what makes the product so easy to misunderstand. It sounds like bacon should be somewhere in the recipe, but flavouring does not necessarily mean the food contains the ingredient being imitated.

In this case, Clark has confirmed that the flavour is meat-free. That distinction matters for anyone who avoids pork and for shoppers who see “bacon” on a package and reasonably assume it means actual bacon.

The beans also combine that smoky bacon-style flavour with maple, another very Canadian combination. The result is a product designed to taste like a familiar bacon-and-maple profile without using meat.

So are they vegetarian?

Based on the manufacturer’s statement that this product contains no pork or meat, there is no meat in the can.

We would still use the ingredient label and manufacturer’s current information for anyone following a specific religious or dietary certification, since “contains no meat” and a formal kosher, halal or vegan certification are not necessarily the same thing.

Why we thought this was worth asking

It is one of those small food questions that becomes more interesting the more you look at it. “Bacon flavour” sounds like a straightforward ingredient. In this case, it is actually a description of a taste.

And now we have the manufacturer’s answer in writing: no pork, no meat, but definitely bacon flavour.

For more Quebec food ideas, see our guide to foods to try in Quebec.