Hematogen

Bars of Hematogen

Hematogen (Russian: Гематоген) is a nutrition bar which is notable in that one of its main ingredients is serum albumin, from cow's blood. It was popular in the former Soviet Union.[1] Chocolate is frequently mixed within it.[2] Other ingredients may vary, but they usually contain sugar, condensed milk and vanillin.

It is often considered to be a medicinal product, and is used to treat or prevent low blood levels of iron and vitamin B12 (e.g., for anemia or during pregnancy).[3] In the Soviet Union, it was available over-the-counter.[1] They are still sold in Russia, Belarus,[4] Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Ukraine.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Hay, Mark (29 March 2019). "How Russia Fell In Love With Candy Bars Made of Blood". Vice. Archived from the original on 2 January 2022. Its [the candy bar's] iron, which prevents anemia, came from black food albumin — a technical term for blood
  2. ^ Greene, Samuel; Robertson, Graeme (2019). Putin Vs. the People: The Perilous Politics of a Divided Russia. Yale University Press. p. 196. ISBN 9780300245059.
  3. ^ "Гематоген". WebApteka. Archived from the original on 2 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Belarus pubs urged to sell cow-blood snacks". BBC. Retrieved 11 August 2024.


Stub icon

This confectionery-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.