Number and type of food additives in plant-based vs animal-based products: an analysis of a UK supermarket range

Abstract

Plant-based diets have risen in popularity over the last couple of decades, particularly in developed countries. Food manufacturers have developed plant-based alternative products to meet increased demand and enable consumers to replace animal-based products. Such products often use food additives in their composition. A plant-based product range from a UK supermarket was selected, and products were paired with equivalent animal-based products, resulting in 71 pairs. The number and type of food additives and non-food additive ingredients were classified using the UK Food Standards Agency’s list, and differences in number were assessed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Plant-based products had a greater number of food additives, non-food additives, and total ingredients than animal-based products (p < 0.001, r = 0.47, 0.64, 0.67). When products were split into categories, the differences appeared to be concentrated within dairy, meat, and fish alternative products and other savoury items. Plant-based products used a total of 39 different food additives, compared to 31 in animal-based products. To conclude, plant-based vs animal-based products from a UK supermarket had a greater number and variety of food additives and a greater number of non-food additive ingredients. Future research should assess whether these findings hold true across other product ranges and geographical locales.