Hematogen Explained

Hematogen (Russian: Гематоген) is a nutrition bar which is notable in that one of its main ingredients is black food albumin, a technical term for 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 and Belarus.^[4]

See also

• Sanguinaccio dolce, a sweet pudding made with pig’s blood
• Protein bar
• Blood as food
• Black pudding

Notes and References

1. News: Hay . Mark . How Russia Fell In Love With Candy Bars Made of Blood. . 29 March 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220102015154/https://www.vice.com/en/article/bjqqz5/how-russia-fell-in-love-with-candy-bars-made-of-blood . 2 January 2022 . live. Its [the candy bar's] iron, which prevents anemia, came from black food albumin — a technical term for blood.
2. Book: Greene . Samuel . Robertson . Graeme . Putin Vs. the People: The Perilous Politics of a Divided Russia . 2019 . Yale University Press . 9780300245059 . 196.
3. Web site: Гематоген . WebApteka . https://web.archive.org/web/20220102015205/https://www.webapteka.ru/drugbase/name1465.html . 2 January 2022 . live.
4. Web site: Belarus pubs urged to sell cow-blood snacks . BBC . 11 August 2024.