The Spanish brand, known for its realistic plant-based meat alternatives, has said that it will register six new patents in the next nine months. These patents will focus on foods with “unprecedented impact and nutritional density” in the most widely consumed food categories beyond plant-based meat. They will include vegan cheeses, snacks, pastas, and other foods.

The patents will remove additives, saturated fats, and modified starches from food products, replacing them with plant proteins and healthy lipids. According to Heura, this will be achieved without sacrificing taste. The company aims to “transform the so-called ‘ultra-processed’ categories” and set a “new nutritional standard for the entire industry.” Heura will license its technology to other companies as well as using it for its own products.

“These new technologies aim to transform current food production methods, but their real strength lies in how effectively they scale and adapt to regional consumer preferences,” Marc Coloma, CEO and co-founder of Heura Foods, said in a statement. “That’s why we are forging partnerships with industry leaders to accelerate a change that no one can drive alone.”

Read more: ‘Groundbreaking’ New Ingredient Promises Stretchy Vegan Pizza Cheese

Plant-based meat and the ‘ultra-processed’ label

Over the last few years, plant-based meat has increasingly come under fire for being “ultra-processed.” A number of experts have disputed the idea that “ultra-processed” is inevitably a negative trait, and studies have indicated that processed plant-based meat is considerably healthier than processed animal meat. That said, however, a number of brands are distancing themselves from this label.

Read more: Fermentation Leads Investments In Plant-Based Sector In 2024

Last year, Beyond Meat unveiled “Sun Sausages” made from beans, rice, and lentils, as well as a “healthier” whole cut mycelium steak. Dutch company Vivera also launched a selection of whole foods-based protein bites. 

Similarly, Heura has been investing in technology to reduce the processed nature of its products. It previously launched the Good Rebel Tech technology platform, which aims to increase the “nutritional value, naturalness, taste and sustainability of all the company’s products.”

Read more: Company Produces ‘Breakthrough’ Plant-Based Protein

This article was written by Polly Foreman on the PBN Website.

Read more: ‘What Food History Tells Us About Living Longer’

RFK Jr is a divisive figure. He repeats controversial and widely debunked conspiracy theories on everything from vaccines to fluoride. He has also promoted high-risk fad foods such as raw milk.

RFK Jr’s appointment as the Secretary of Health will entrust him with providing “effective health and human services,” as well as fostering “sound, sustained advances in the sciences underlying medicine, public health, and social services.”

Many medical professionals have criticized his appointment, contrasting his wild theorizing with the seriousness of the role. One Professor of Paediatric Infection and Immunity referred to the decision as a “slap in the face” of evidence-based health policies, particularly in light of RFK Jr’s repeated criticism of vaccines.

Despite his many unsupported health claims, some professionals have welcomed the opportunity to “galvanize” progress in areas that they, RFK Jr, and much of the American public share ground. In particular, RFK is an outspoken critic of the “heavily processed unhealthy foods” which make up approximately 60-70 percent of the standard American diet (SAD).

Processed foods come with both risks and benefits

Rohini Bajekal, Nutritionist and Communications Lead at Plant-Based Health Professionals UK (PBHP) tells Plant Based News (PBN) that many ultra-processed foods (UPFs) combine fat, sugar, salt, and artificial flavors, eschewing fiber and nutrients.

“They are considered hyper-palatable: this means they are irresistible, easy to overconsume, and are capable of hijacking the brain’s reward system thus provoking powerful cravings,” explains Bajekal. “This can lead to overconsumption.”

There is a growing body of evidence indicating that UPF overconsumption increases the risk of developing diabetes, cardiovascular disease, mental health issues, cancers, and poor gut health. However, the phrase “ultra-processed” is very general, encompassing many different foods with varying nutritional values, degrees of processing, and perceived healthfulness.

Some UPFs are best described as “food-like substances,” a phrase used by Bajekal for items with almost no nutritional value at all, but for other foods, processing can improve nutrient density. For example, cooked, canned, and concentrated tomatoes typically contain more bioavailable lycopene, a “powerful antioxidant” with confirmed anti-cancer properties.

Fermentation, which can also be considered a form of food processing, adds nutritional value to the base ingredients, as in tempeh. Meanwhile, freezer technology enables the year-round storage and consumption of nutritious foods. RFK has been particularly critical of pasteurization, but the pasteurization process kills harmful bacteria in food and drinks like milk, juice, beer, and canned foods, aiding human health and saving countless lives.

“Not all processed foods are created equal,” notes Bajekal. “Canning, cooking, freezing, fermenting, and drying are all processing methods. There are usually both positive and negative implications for nutrition as a result of them.”

Read more: New ‘Ultra-Processed’ Guide Answers All Your Questions On UPFs

Processed foods play an ‘important role’ in many people’s diets

RFK Jr has specifically targeted processed cereals, and said that “kids shouldn’t be eating grains.” But while excessive consumption of refined grain does come with potential health risks, many Americans also rely on fortified cereals to mitigate nutrient deficiencies – a pressing issue for most of the population.

“Processed foods play an important role in many people’s diets. This may be due to time, cost, cooking ability or access, health issues, or any unique nutritional needs,” explains Bajekal. “They can also help certain groups of people such as children or older adults meet their nutritional needs.”

“Some processed foods make eating more enjoyable, convenient, and easier to meet my nutrient needs,” adds Bajekal. She tells PBN that some of her go-to processed foods included fortified plant milks, yogurts, and calcium-set tofu.

Plant-based products like these are some of the most criticized UPFs of all, but studies indicate that even processed options are typically healthier and more sustainable than meat and dairy. Bajekal says that negative narratives around plant foods are used as “an excuse” to promote animal-based foods as “natural,” or “unprocessed.”

Processed animal products and negative health outcomes

In addition to grains, RFK Jr has criticized seed oils, which he says kids should also not eat. He has said that the broader move away from traditional animal fats like beef tallow towards vegetable oils is responsible for rising obesity rates nationwide.

“There is no evidence to reflect this,” said Bajekal. “In fact, the data shows that seed oils or many vegetable oils can benefit human health.”

Plant-based oils are certainly thought to be better for heart health than tallow and dairy butter, and a major 20-year review from earlier this year found that eating a plant-based diet was “significantly associated” with better health markers.

A recent deep dive into RFK Jr’s claims about the benefits of tallow by The Atlantic noted that a national shift from saturated to polyunsaturated fats in the middle of the 20th century was followed by a 56 percent reduction in heart disease deaths. Longstanding medical advice suggests limiting the consumption of saturated animal fats to lower obesity risk and cardiovascular disease risk.

It’s worth noting here that certain highly processed animal-based foods are strongly linked to negative health outcomes but have not been specifically addressed by RFK Jr. For example, bacon, ham, hot dogs, and salami are all group 1 carcinogens, meaning they are known to cause cancer. Red meat is linked to colorectal cancer and diabetes, while dairy products are a major source of salt and saturated fat. (The average American eats approximately 42 pounds of cheese per year.)

‘Make America healthy again’

RFK Jr’s criticism of UPFs undoubtedly reflects the concerns of many medical professionals and American citizens. However, his comments repeatedly fail to acknowledge the need for more scientific research in this area, the complexity of the subject, countless intersecting socioeconomic factors, and the specific role of animal products – both processed and unprocessed – in negative health outcomes.

RFK Jr’s promotion of animal ingredients in place of plant-based ones also does not take into account the way animal agriculture negatively impacts the environment, the climate crisis, and human health, or how all of those outcomes are interlinked.

There is currently a multi-state bird flu outbreak amongst dairy cows in the US. Earlier this year, Robert Redfield, the former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned that bird flu is “very likely” to be the next human pandemic. While RFK Jr has been extremely critical of the CDC, he has yet to comment on the role of animal farming in contemporary health crises.

Approximately 99 percent of all animals raised for food in the US are factory-farmed. The cramped, inhumane conditions of factory farming increase zoonotic disease risk, while the industry’s overuse of antibiotics further undermines public health, causing illness and death. While the impact of processed foods requires immediate further investigation, the role of animal products and factory farming in public health also demands the fullest consideration from the US government’s Department of Health and Human Services, whoever the Secretary of Health may be.

Read more: Plant-Based Diets Nearly 20% Cheaper Than Standard American Diet, Research Finds

This article was written by Liam Pritchett on the PBN Website.

Read more: The Technology That ‘Could Turn The World Vegan’

What is food processing?

When you think of food processing, it might be that you think of certain ultra-processed foods linked to negative health outcomes, like ham or sugary soft drinks. In reality, the majority of the foods we eat today are processed in one way or another.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) says any ingredient that has undergone changes to its natural state – such as cleaning, milling, pasteurizing, packaging, preservation, or flavoring – is a processed food. This means that breads, some grains, juices, and even fresh produce like apples are classed as processed foods.

It is arguable that a reductive definition of “processed food” (one that includes apples and cookies in the same category) does not support consumers in making informed decisions on food and nutrition. The public’s kneejerk mistrust of all processed or “unnatural” foods has also been repeatedly used to undermine plant-based meat and other alternatives.

Writing for Food Manufacture, food process engineering expert Dr Camila Perussello noted that “changing the narrative” around processed foods is essential moving forward. She also said that better consumer education is “vital for a just, sustainable, and resilient food system where people eat healthily and consume mindfully.”

Read more: Brand Creates Wheat-Based Binders For Vegan Meat That’s Free From E-Numbers

Why are foods processed?

Foods can be processed for a variety of different reasons. Some are processed to make them suitable for human consumption, like olives, while others are processed to make them safer, like fruit juices.

Some are processed for convenience, like canned or frozen vegetables, and certain foods for flavor and longevity, like pickles, or crisps and chips.

With the above in mind, processed foods can be placed on a wide spectrum with minimally-processed at one end (like apples) and ultra-processed at the other (like soda). But even at the extreme of “ultra-processed,” the topic remains complicated and amorphous.

Many processed foods have obvious benefits, like longevity and safety, but so-called “fun foods” have their place too. Pre-packaged cookies, for example, which typically have negligible nutritional value, can also be a part of an overall healthy and well-balanced diet.

Are processed foods unhealthy?

There is growing evidence of a link between regular or high consumption of ultra-processed foods and negative health outcomes like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, poor mental health, various cancers, and poor gut health.

As with processed foods, the definition of “ultra-processed” is unclear, and nutrient-dense foods like fortified cereals and whole grain bread can also be classified as UPFs, even though they are both generally linked with positive health outcomes rather than negative.

Many plant-based alternatives are also UPFs, but a growing number of studies show that these foods are both healthier and better for the planet than meat and dairy. (Plant Based News (PBN) has guides to ultra-processed foods and processed vegan foods here.)

Food systems researcher Jenny Chapman recently authored a report on the need to retire the phrase “ultra-processed foods” entirely. The term has become laden with misinformed but negative connotations and serves little practical purpose to consumers.

She previously told PBN: “The UPF categorization simply tells us that, like so much of the food we eat – tofu, hummus, oat milk, wholemeal bread – plant-based meats are made in factories. It is unable to tell you if a food is healthy or not.”

5 benefits to food processing

As noted above, processed food can be considered a spectrum including everything from nutrient-dense, fortified ingredients to fun foods like crisps and cookies. That means there are no catch-all rules for every food and ingredient included on the spectrum. These are just some of the proven and potential benefits of food processing.

1. Food safety

From early forms of food preservation like drying, pickling, and fermenting, to modern ones like pasteurization, sterilization, and irradiation, processing helps to maintain food safety. 

Pasteurization, for example, retains nutritional value while killing off harmful bacteria, making it essential both for the safety of consumers and the maintenance of global health. While irradiation both removes microorganisms and helps to extend the lifespan of fresh produce.

2. Additional nutrition

Some common forms of processing can remove certain nutrients, and canning vegetables, for example, slightly reduces water-soluble vitamin content. But in many cases, this is offset by the potential for food processing to preserve the remaining nutrients for longer.

Preserving fruit through drying, canning, or freezing maintains the majority of the food’s nutritional content, meaning that it can be consumed and enjoyed out of season. While fresh fruit and veg might be ideal, preserved varieties are still better than nothing.

Fortification is another way in which processed foods can aid nutrition. Breads, cereals, and more can all be easily fortified with vitamins, minerals, and sometimes macronutrients like protein, in order to battle chronic deficiencies and support human health.

Most plant-based alternatives are fortified in this way, with some producers adding B12 and other essential minerals that are less common on a plant-based diet. Micronutrient fortification is cost-effective, and adding key vitamins to staples like flour, cereals, and salt can ensure someone gets a nutritionally complete diet for just a few cents per year.

3. Accessibility

As many processing techniques give food a considerably prolonged shelf life, they also increase people’s access to nutritious foods like fruits and vegetables. Remote areas and food deserts may not have a diverse supply of fresh produce to hand, but canned fruits and vegetables are nutritious, long-lasting, and cost-effective alternatives.

Some processed foods are also quick and easy to prepare, as with pre-cooked meals and pre-portioned snacks. This makes them a lifeline for people with disabilities, as well as older folks, parents, people with chronic illnesses, and anyone short on time.

The prevalence of pre-prepared plant-based ingredients, in particular, can drastically increase people’s access to nutrient-dense foods. In an article for Metro about the importance of pre-packaged food for folks living with a disability, writer Shona Louise commented “Mushroom mince, spiralised courgette, and cauliflower steaks might seem pointless to you but when you can’t cut up any of the above, they suddenly become staples in your fridge.”

4. Sustainability

The ability to process waste material into usable, nutritious ingredients is revolutionary, enabling companies to turn brewery waste into plant-based meat, overripe fruits into snacks and crisps, and even peels and stems into protein powders and baking mixes.

But processing helps to reduce waste and promote sustainability throughout the food system, not just through upcycled ingredients. The increased longevity of canned and frozen foods helps to reduce waste, as do pre-packaged and pre-portioned ingredients.

Plant-based alternatives like meat and dairy are proven to be far superior for the environment than comparable animal-derived versions, and they are only possible because of food processing technology. They have a positive impact on animals, by being cruelty-free, and require significantly a low-to-moderate quantity of resources compared to animal farming.

5. Enjoyment

Sustainability, accessibility, and nutrition are inarguably important, but humans also eat for enjoyment, and good-tasting foods are an essential part of every culture and community.

Common food processing techniques like fermentation, pickling, marinating, and seasoning all make foods more pleasurable to eat, with endless regional and cultural variations and significance. (For example, without food processing, there would be no chocolate.)

Modern processing methods also open up endless possibilities when it comes to taste, texture, and consistency. This allows for the manufacture of all kinds of tender, juicy, nutritious, and sustainable plant-based meats, including whole cuts.

“Both fresh and processed foods make up vital parts of the food supply,” write the authors of a 2014 report on the subject titled Processed Foods: Contributions To Nutrition. “Processed food contributes to both food security (ensuring that sufficient food is available) and nutrition security (ensuring that food quality meets human nutrient needs).”

Read more: ‘Why Isn’t Processed Meat Scrutinized Like Plant-Based Meat?’: Klaus Mitchell BBC Debate

This article was written by Liam Pritchett on the PBN Website.

Read more: Beyond Steak Becomes First Vegan Meat To Earn Prestigious Nutritional Certification

The Beyond Sun Sausage is made from plant ingredients like fava beans, yellow peas, avocado oil, brown rice, and red lentils. The sausages are available in three flavors – Pesto, Cajun, and Pineapple Jalapeño.

A Beyond Meat spokesperson told Plant Based News that it made the sausages in response to increasing demand for “diverse and clean protein sources for various meals, occasions, and lifestyles.”

“For Beyond Sun Sausage, we wanted to offer consumers something new and unique, without being constrained to trying to mimic beef, pork or poultry,” they added.

Beyond Meat, which was established in Los Angeles in 2009, is a plant-based company that’s best known for its vegan meat products. Since its inception, it’s specialized in alternatives to meats made from chickens, pigs, and cows. These have always been made to replicate the meat as much as possible, targeting vegans, vegetarians, and flexitarians looking to reduce their meat consumption. 

‘Ultra-processed’ meat falls out of favor

In the last couple of years, however, Beyond Meat, as well as the vegan meat sector in general, has come under fire for producing “ultra-processed” products. The mainstream media launched an attack on the industry, with articles claiming that vegans are unhealthy because of these products. One even argued that vegans were “slowly killing themselves” with plant-based meat. 

Read more: Beyond Meat Sales Fall By 30%, Reigniting ‘Plant-Based Fad’ Debate

A number of studies have disputed such claims. A major review published last year, for example, found that plant-based meat did not appear to be associated with disease risk like processed animal meat is. It’s also worth noting that plant-based meats don’t tend to make up a significant proportion of the average vegans’ diet, as the media often implies they do. Vegan meat alternatives aren’t intended to be healthy foods, and many people just eat them on occasion. Nevertheless, the media onslaught against plant-based meat is giving it an increasingly negative reputation among the public. This means that a growing number of people are seeking alternatives made with whole foods, rather than highly processed ingredients. 

Earlier this year, Beyond Meat announced a major shake-up to its Beyond Burger and Beyond Beef products. The company rebranded the products as “Beyond IV” and put them in green packaging. They feature avocado oil in place of canola and coconut oils, and “simpler” ingredients were used to make them. 

The new Sun Sausages, which are launching at Sprouts Farmers Market stores across the US, are the latest product to showcase Beyond’s shift towards a healthier market. 

Read more: Is This The Beginning Of The End For Vegan Meat Alternatives?

This article was written by Polly Foreman on the PBN Website.

Read more: Is Processed Vegan Food Bad For Your Heart? A Fact Check

Loryma – a brand owned by Germany’s Crespel & Deiters Group – produces “wheat-based raw materials” for use in various food products, including vegan and vegetarian meat. The new ingredient joins the existing Lory Bind portfolio, and the brand says it has a wide range of applications in hot and cold vegan products of all kinds.

Manufacturers can incorporate various ratios of texturates and the new ingredient to replicate nuggets, schnitzels, salami, fish, and other traditional animal-based foods with greater textural and nutritional accuracy, and shortened ingredient lists.

“This new Lory Bind variant marks another milestone in the development of clean label binders for the vegan food industry,” said Loryma’s Head of R&D Norbert Klein, as reported by Food Ingredients First. “This solution not only aligns with consumer expectations but also supports manufacturers in producing plant-based products entirely free from e-numbers.”

Read more: FDA Looking To Ban Food Additive Still Used In Some Sodas

Harmful or not, plant-based brands move away from processed ingredients

Plant-based meat is currently under significant scrutiny for its ultra-processed ingredients.

Methylcellulose is a cellulose-based compound that is non-toxic but cannot be digested. It is used in a wide variety of household products and foodstuffs – including plant-based meat – in very low quantities. (Meat analogs typically contain less than two percent methylcellulose.)

While methylcellulose is generally considered harmless, Loryma is not the only brand seeking to set itself apart by emphasizing fewer ingredients and effective nutrition. 

Planted, Edonia, Rival Foods, and Pacifico Biolabs use microalgae, precision fermentation, proprietary shear cell technology, and mycelium, respectively, to produce meaty, nutrient-dense plant-based proteins with minimal additives.

Planted co-founder Pascal Bieri previously described the brand’s vegan steak as a “game-changer.”

“No other plant-based steak on the market uses only natural ingredients, zero additives, and displays features such as juiciness as well as tenderness,” he added.

Read more: New ‘Ultra-Processed’ Guide Answers All Your Questions On UPFs

This article was written by Liam Pritchett on the PBN Website.

Read more: Is Vegan Food Really Worse For You Than Meat? A Factcheck Of Media Coverage

This condemnation of veganism occurs whenever research comes out that shows that not all vegan diets are equally healthy. It’s not something that vegans tend to worry about, since their primary guide for what to eat is whether or not it contains anything that came from an animal (more on what veganism means here). Those who are health-conscious too can simply opt for a wholefoods plant-based diet.

So does the new study justify the reaction from some media outlets that seem to love an opportunity to attack veganism? Let’s dig into its findings.

Key results

The study, published in the Lancet, was conducted by researchers at Imperial College London and the University of São Paulo (USP). They drew health data from the UK’s Biobank for 118,000 British people aged 40 to 69. The study doesn’t say how many participants were vegan. Rather it grouped them into quartiles depending on how much of their diet was made up of plant-sourced non-UPF.

The study categorized the foods that Biobank participants reported eating into plant-sourced non-UPF, plant-sourced UPF, animal-sourced non-UPF, and animal-sourced UPF. 

The researchers found that eating more non-UPF plant-based food – i.e. whole foods like legumes and vegetables – lowered the risk of cardiovascular disease. For every 10 percent increase in plant-sourced non-UPF, the risk went down by seven percent. The risk of death from cardiovascular disease also went down by 13 percent.

But the risk increased with higher consumption of plant-sourced UPF – five percent for the risk of cardiovascular disease and 12 percent for death. Overall, both animal-sourced and plant-sourced UPF were linked to higher risk and mortality from cardiovascular disease.

In addition, the researchers found that eating plant-sourced non-UPF instead of foods from the other three categories had protective benefits for heart health.

What are plant-sourced UPF?

The plant-sourced UPF category contained foods “exclusively or primarily of plant origin.” This includes sliced bread and burger buns, fizzy drinks, salty snacks, cakes, tomato ketchup, vodka, breakfast cereals, and chocolate biscuits. 

Read more: Is Oat Milk Bad For You? The Truth Behind The Claims

These foods were not necessarily vegan, and are consumed by both vegans and meat-eaters. “Our aim wasn’t to evaluate if the food was vegan or vegetarian,” lead author Fernanda Rauber, a researcher at the Centre for Epidemiological Research in Nutrition and Health at USP, told Plant Based News. “Our database allowed us to differentiate between animal and plant-based options for many foods, such as ice cream, rice pudding, canned soup with meat cheese and white sauce (animal-sourced) vs. candies, canned soup without meat, tomato ketchup and pesto (plant-sourced).” This explains why this category accounts for the majority (39.4 percent on average) of the energy intake in the participants’ diets. Other research has found that UPF make up half the average British diet.

Meat alternatives were only one of 14 types of plant-sourced UPF considered. Meanwhile, the animal-sourced UPF category was much smaller. It only included processed red meat like sausages, processed white meat like chicken nuggets, mayonnaise, and dairy desserts like ice-cream. 

Misleading media coverage

Based on the widespread consumption of the foods in the plant-sourced UPF category, it’s not just plant-based eaters who are risking their heart health. The authors’ key message was that just because a food is plant-based or mostly plant-based, doesn’t make it healthy. This finding won’t come as a surprise to many people, and it’s likely not a source of concern for ethical vegans. Yet some of the media coverage has claimed that the shows veganism is unhealthy.

In particular, some outlets have used the study to claim that meat alternatives are bad for your heart. But the study doesn’t distinguish the risks associated with specific plant-sourced UPF. In addition, meat alternatives only accounted for 0.2 percent of the calories consumed by participants, according to Rauber. “[W]e cannot draw specific conclusions related to this particular type of food,” she said.

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Read more: The Vegan Cheese ‘Health Warning’ – Is There Really Cause For Concern?

Meanwhile, a recent major study investigated the link between multimorbidity – the co-occurrence of two or more long-term conditions, such as cancer and heart disease – and various ultra processed foods. It found that the risk of multimorbidity was “most notable for animal-based products and artificially and sugar-sweetened beverages.” But it found no increased risk associated with other UPF such as breads, cereals, and plant-based alternatives.

What are the risks of animal-sourced UPF?

The Lancet study didn’t draw specific conclusions about the risks of animal-sourced UPF. But the story looks similar to how it is for plant-sourced foods. Rauber said the findings indicated that non-red meat non-UPF (e.g. eggs, dairy, chicken meat) was linked to a lower risk of and death from cardiovascular disease. But non-red meat UPF increased the risks. Meanwhile, Rauber noted that “Interestingly, the consumption of all non-red meat in the diet did not exhibit significant associations with cardiovascular disease outcomes.”

In the study, the researchers write that their findings “are in line with previous meta-analyses, which consistently demonstrate a significant positive association between the consumption of processed meat and various [cardiovascular disease] and mortality outcomes.”

As for red meat, one large-scale study showed that eating a moderate amount of red meat raised the risk of cardiovascular disease by eight percent. This closely matched the results of a study from the University of Oxford. That study found that for each additional 50g of unprocessed red meat consumed a day, the risk of coronary heart disease went up by nine percent. For every 50g of processed meat consumed a day, the risk increases to 18 percent. 

UPF marketed as healthy

Many manufacturers of UPF have co-opted the association between plant-based diets and health to sell their products. Foods such as breakfast cereals and energy bars might market themselves as plant-based. But often such products are high in sugar. Processed plant-based foods like burgers also have a “health halo.” This mean consumers assume they’re healthier without knowing all the nutritional information. 

But health experts have warned that being processed doesn’t necessarily mean something is unhealthy. The Lancet study used a food classification system called NOVA. Critics say NOVA underestimates the importance of ingredients in determining how healthy a food is, rather than it’s processing.

Under the “meat alternatives” in the plant-sourced UPF category, the Lancet study included not only veggie sausages and burgers, but tofu and tempeh. Both of these are considered healthy sources of protein and many other nutrients. 

According to Rauber, tofu and tempeh were classified as UPF because “we observed many options of tofu and tempeh with natural flavourings and thickeners like guar gum available on the market at the time of data collection.” This isn’t true of all these products. Tofu company Tofoo, for example, doesn’t use such additives. Rauber added that since meat alternatives made up such a small amount of calorie intake, it’s unlikely the study results would have changed if tofu and tempeh had been classified differently.

Ultimately, the evidence does not point specifically to vegan food being bad for your heart. But if you’re health conscious, it’s important to heed to messages of numerous studies that plant-based diets are healthiest when they mostly contain wholefoods.

This article was written by Claire Hamlett on the PBN Website.