A study out of Europe released this summer has caught the attention of some media outlets for its attempts to convince consumers and regulators that plant-based meat products should not be lumped into the same ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) category as similar animal protein products.
The research document “Where does plant-based meat fit in the UPF conversation?” details the findings of the study and was co-created by the Good Food Institute Europe (GFI Europe) and the Physicians Association for Nutrition (PAN), two non-profits that purportedly promote healthier, more sustainable diets.
The authors of the report say that earlier iterations of some of the better-known branded plant-based burgers, sausages and other products produced by companies like Beyond and Impossible, among others, were mostly similar to their animal-derived brethren when it came to nutritional profiles (i.e., sodium and saturated fat content). Also, the study notes the foundational issue that currently plagues the industry: a lack of clear, complete definitions and standards.
“Most UPFs are high in calories and low in nutrients,” the authors state, “but the term is not defined by nutritional criteria, and some UPFs have good nutritional value.”
The study criticizes the Nova Food Classification system, which was created in 2009, as short-sighted by considering only processing methods.
“The Nova framework does not consider nutritional composition, it separates foods based on how they are made and used,” the report says. “Plant-based meat is often considered Nova 4, but is very different from the most widely eaten UPFs both in terms of its nutritional profile and the dietary patterns it tends to fall into.”
Therefore, even though plant-based meat products often are processed through extrusion, blending and other techniques that can lead to the ultraprocessed label — similar to animal protein products — the study believes that nutritional profile should also play a part, meaning some UPFs are better than others.
Criticism of the Nova standards isn’t new, and Food Processing has spoken with plenty of industry experts who have cautioned food and beverage companies to act now and begin to think about ingredient decks and nutritional profiles. It will be interesting to see if this new study gains more traction and pushes the debate along further in the U.S., where uncertainty over UPFs still reigns supreme.
