A cross-sectional study of the cost and nutritional content of plant-based meat-imitation products in supermarkets and plant-based products in restaurants in the United Kingdom.

Authors

Grace Monori, Anjum Memon, Gemma Archer

Published in

Nutrition and health. Pages 2601060251344449. May 27, 2025. Epub May 27, 2025.

Abstract

There is a global trend of increasing consumption of plant-based foods, yet little is known about the nutritional composition and price of plant-based meat alternatives and restaurant items in the United Kingdom, and how they compare to non-plant-based options. Aim: This study compared the nutritional content and cost of plant-based and non-plant-based foods/products sold in UK supermarkets and restaurants. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, meat-based products (n = 1228) and plant-based-imitation products (n = 147) were identified from five supermarkets. Plant-based (n = 54) and equivalent non-plant-based (n = 54) items were identified from ten restaurants. Nutritional information (energy, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugar, fibre, protein, and salt) and price of the products was compared for plant-based and non-plant-based products using the Mann-Whitney U test and Wilcoxon Signed Rank test. Results: For supermarkets, the plant-based meat-imitation products had lower median saturated fat and protein, and higher median sugar and fibre per 100 g compared with non-plant-based products (all results p < 0.001). Plant-based supermarket products were more expensive (median £1.02/100 g vs £0.85/100 g; p < 0.001). For restaurant products, plant-based items were significantly lower in energy (p < 0.001), saturated fat (p = 0.017), sugar (p = 0.007) and protein (p < 0.001), and higher in fibre (p = 0.009), per serving, compared with non-plant-based products. There was no difference between the cost of plant-based and non-plant-based restaurant products per serving (p = 0.39). Conclusion: Plant-based meat-imitation products available in UK supermarkets were lower in saturated fat, but higher in sugar compared with meat options, and were significantly more expensive. Plant-based products sold in restaurants may provide a healthier alternative, at no additional cost per serving.

PMID:
40421482
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 27 May 2025.

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