A cross-sectional study of the commercial plant-based landscape across the US, UK and Canada

Abstract

As plant-based foods comprise an ever-increasing proportion of the diet, understanding the nutritional composition of these products is critical. In this study we assess the nutritional content of all commercial plant-based products across multiple sectors (supermarkets, fast food & sit down restaurants, food delivery companies and manufacturers) in the US, UK and Canada. We identified 3488 unique products. Across all sectors, 45% of main meals had >15g protein, 60% had <10%kcal from saturated fat; 29% had >10g fibre per meal; 86% had <1000mg sodium. At restaurants, meat-based main meals were significantly higher in protein and sodium compared to vegetarian and vegan meals. The meat-based options were also significantly higher in saturated fat than the vegan but not vegetarian options. We conclude that plant-based items tend to be lower in saturated fat and sodium than their meat-based counterparts but improvements are needed to optimise their nutritional composition.

Industrially Produced Plant-Based Food Products: Nutritional Value and Degree of Processing

“…The current fast-paced, dynamic lifestyles have driven consumers to demand more convenient food options, such as ready meals that can be an easy and timely alternative to the regular diet [72]. However, when compared to home-cooked meals, these food options are not just more expensive, but they also frequently present lower nutritional quality, as demonstrated by recent data that reveals that plant-based ready meals present high fat and salt content [73,74] in line with our results. Nevertheless, considering the lack of culinary skills and the unfamiliarity with replacing the best animal-based proteins [7], plant-based ready meals could facilitate the transition to plant-based diets.…”

Emerging trends in the agri-food sector: Digitalisation and shift to plant-based diets

“…Some plant-based foods were reported to have lower protein, higher carbohydrates, sugar, and salt contents compared to conventional products ( Boukid and Castellari, 2021 ; Pointke and Pawelzik, 2022 ). However, other products showed low saturated fatty acids and cholesterol content and high fiber content ( Boukid and Castellari, 2021 ; Guess et al, 2022 ; Salomé et al, 2021 ). This is due to the lack of nutritional standardization versus the high number of products formulated differently and currently available in the global market.…”