The magazine 60 Million Consumers has plunged into the empire of vegetarian imitations of meat. Alternatives whose consumption must be limited if we want to preserve our health.
They are an alternative to meat: steaks or vegetable nuggets are the new stars on the plate of the French. In recent years, many French people have limited their meat consumption for various reasons: environmental issues, animal welfare or for their own health. The new special issue of the 60 million consumers magazine entitled “Health on the plate”, peel the undersides of the vegetable meat.
Special edition available today on newsstands and on our website https://t.co/zkff0CZtxu# WOD2021 pic.twitter.com/qzrUwudWKf
– 60 Million consumers (@ 60millions) March 4, 2021
“Ultra-processed” foods to be wary of
As part of their study, the magazine looked at “Sixteen products from mass distribution (Findus, Herta, Carrefour Veggie…) and organic stores (Céréalpes, Tossolia…)“. The result is surprising, “ Fourteen out of sixteen plant substitutes fall into the category of “ultra-processed” foods, the consumption of which must be limited if you want to preserve your health! “. But where consumers of vegetarian meats will have to be wary, it is at the level of Nutri-Score. This rating, which attests to the nutritional quality of the product, is often relatively correct (A or B in the majority of cases). However, it can prove to be misleading. According to investigators of 60 million consumers, the Nutri-score does not take into account the ultra-food processing index (Siga index). This index was developed in order to quantify the degree of transformation of a food. “The Siga 1 index corresponds to raw foods (carrot, apple, rice, etc.); index 2 to “minimally processed” foods obtained by culinary processes used at home or in restaurants (cutting, cooking, pressing, etc.); index 3 to the same foods when added sugar, salt or fat “ says the magazine.
“They contain at least one ultra-transformation marker, in other words an additive or an ingredient obtained by very aggressive industrial processes”
“Among the sixteen vegetarian or vegan substitutes in our selection, only the“ Provençale ”cakes from Céréalpes have this Siga 3 index. All the other products have an index of 5 or 7, synonymous with ultra-processed food: they contain at least one“ ultra-transformation marker “, in other words an additive (texturizer, flavoring, coloring, etc.) or an ingredient obtained by very aggressive industrial processes”, details the survey of 60 million consumers.
Rely on the compositions of the different products
These new plant substitutes are on the rise. Sales soared by 11% in 2019, still according to the magazine 60 million consumers, this market should represent nearly 600 million euros this year. The researcher in sustainable and holistic preventive food at INRAE, Anthony Fardet cited by the magazine, explains “The epidemiological studies on the subject all point in the same direction. Heavy consumers of ultra-processed foods are more at risk of developing chronic diseases: type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, irritable bowel syndrome… ”. It is necessary to read the compositions on the back of the different products. This is what Professor Serge Hercberg, founder of Nutri-score and also quoted by the newspaper, recommends. While waiting for a marking on ultra-processed products, the only weapon available to the consumer is to take a good look at the composition: the presence of ingredients that do not exist in his kitchen cupboards should alert him “.
