A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Products Marketed as Plant-Based Across the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada Using Online Nutrition Information

Nicola Guess; Kevin Klatt; Dorothy Wei; Eric Williamson; Ilayda Ulgenalp; Ornella Trinidade; Eslem Kusaslan; Azize Yildirim; Charlotte Gowers; Robert Guard; Chris Mills

doi:10.1016/j.cdnut.2023.100059

A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Products Marketed as Plant-Based Across the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada Using Online Nutrition Information

Curr Dev Nutr. 2023 Feb 25;7(3):100059. doi: 10.1016/j.cdnut.2023.100059. eCollection 2023 Mar.

Authors

Nicola Guess^{1

2}, Kevin Klatt³, Dorothy Wei⁴, Eric Williamson⁵, Ilayda Ulgenalp⁶, Ornella Trinidade⁷, Eslem Kusaslan⁸, Azize Yildirim⁹, Charlotte Gowers¹⁰, Robert Guard¹¹, Chris Mills¹²

Affiliations

¹ Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, United Kingdom.
² Department of Nutrition, King's College London, London United Kingdom.
³ Center for Precision Environmental Health, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, United States.
⁴ Department of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
⁵ Department of Muscle Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
⁶ Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
⁷ Faculty of Sport, Health and Applied Science, St Mary's University, Twickenham, United Kingdom.
⁸ ESL Nutrition Ltd, London, United Kingdom.
⁹ Department of Life Science, University of Roehampton, Roehampton, United Kingdom.
¹⁰ School of Health, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, United Kingdom.
¹¹ Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, United States.
¹² School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Queens University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

Abstract

Background: The food industry is responding to a rising demand for plant-based foods by developing and marketing an ever-wider range of vegan and vegetarian products under the banner of "plant-based." Understanding the nutritional properties of these products is critical.

Objectives: To assess the number, meal type, and nutritional content of products marketed as plant-based (MaPB) from the perspective of the consumer across multiple sectors in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada.

Methods: An online search for products MaPB was performed across supermarkets, restaurants, food manufacturers, and plant-based meal delivery companies in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada using the terms: "vegan," "vegetarian," and "plant-based." Online nutrition data were extracted, and whole meals that comprised >50% of ingredients such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds were identified. The nutritional content of dishes MaPB in restaurants was also directly compared with meat-containing dishes.

Results: Further, 3488 unique products were identified, of which 962 were whole meals and 1137 were a replacement for the main protein component in a meal, including 771 meat alternatives. Across all sectors, 45% of whole meals had >15-g protein, 70% had <10% kcal from saturated fat; 29% had >10-g fiber per meal, and 86% had <1000 mg sodium. At restaurants, 1507 meat-containing dishes were identified and compared with 191 vegetarian and 81 vegan dishes. The meat-containing dishes were higher in protein [35.4 g (24.0-51.4)] compared with vegetarian [19.0 g (13.0-26.1)] and vegan [16.2 g (10.5-23.2) dishes (P < 0.001)]. The vegan dishes were low in saturated fat and sodium (SFA: 6.3 g ± 6.4, Sodium: 800 mg (545.0-1410.0) compared with both meat [SFA: 11.6 g ± 10.0; Sodium: 1280 mg (820.0-1952.0)] and vegetarian [SFA: 9.4 g ± 7.6; Sodium: 1011 mg (603.0-1560.0)] options (P < 0.001 for all comparisons).

Conclusions: Products MaPB tend to have lower concentrations of saturated fat and sodium than their meat-containing counterparts, but improvements are needed to optimize their nutritional composition.

Keywords: consumer; plant-based; protein; vegan; vegetarian.