Vegan Food Testing and Labeling

1. Introduction

Although it seems like vegan and vegetarian diets are among the hottest culinary trends, there is proof that some individuals have been following these diets for generations. The term "vegan," nevertheless, wasn't actually coined until 1944.

What is a vegetarian diet?

• Ovo-vegetarian – excludes meat, fish, poultry, dairy; includes eggs
• Lacto-ovo vegetarian – excludes meat, fish, poultry; includes dairy, eggs
• Lacto-vegetarian – excludes meat, fish, poultry, eggs; includes dairy
• Pescatarian – excludes meat, poultry, dairy, eggs; includes fish
• Flexitarian – a semi-vegetarian diet; primarily plant-based but includes animal products on occasion or in small amounts
• Vegan – excludes meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, honey
  
  

Global Market Share (in US$ Million)

2. Everything about Vegan Diet – what, how, when and where

Vegan diets consist solely of plant-based meals. Fruits, vegetables, legumes, soy, nuts and butters, dairy substitutes made from plants, fermented or sprouted plant foods, and whole grains are all part of this diet pattern ^(1,7). Vegan diets are exclusive of animal products like poultry, eggs, meat, dairy, and shellfish. Additionally, they are also free of animal byproducts like honey (produced by bees) and less well-known animal-based substances including whey, casein, egg white albumen, carmine, lactose, shellac, gelatin, vitamin D₃, and omega-3 fatty acids derived from fish ⁽²⁾.

3. How Veganism affects health?

The vegan diet emphasizes foods that are high in fiber, phytonutrients, antioxidants, and vitamins A, C, E, and K. The effects of vegan diets on people's health have been researched extensively. Vegan diets result in reduced baseline blood pressure, BMI, and total cholesterol ^(2,7). In comparison to a traditional diabetes diet, they are also linked to better glycaemia management in those with Type 2 diabetes ⁽³⁾.

Challenging nutrients ⁽⁴⁾

• Restrictive diet = challenging to get all the nutrients needed
  • Vegan diets eliminate natural food sources of B₁₂
  • Vegan diets eliminate dairy which contains calcium
• Pay special attention to the following nutrients:
  • Calcium, vitamin D
  • Vitamin B₁₂
  • Protein
  • Omega-3 fatty acids
  • Iron, zinc, iodine

4. What are the scopes of Vegan Labeling in India?

India began enacting the first vegan food safety and labelling laws on June 10th, 2022. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) released guidelines to describe plant-based food products and help customers identify them after the completion of its report ⁽⁵⁾. The Food Safety and Regulations (Vegan Food) Regulations, the country of India's first plant-based food safety standards, were originally published as a draft by the FSSAI on September 8, 2021. In addition to outlining what constitutes vegan food, the new standards also establish a new vegan food insignia to aid consumers in recognizing such products.

FSSAI specifications ⁽⁶⁾

• "Foods or food ingredients that have not employed any components, additives or processing aids of animal origin, including milk and milk products, fish, poultry, and meat, egg or egg products, honey or honey bee products, or materials of insect origin," according to the FSSAI.
• Additionally, it stipulates that vegan food cannot contain any "ingredients clarified using animal based products" such bone char used in the manufacturing of sugar or isinglass (fish swim bladder) used in the clarifying of beer.
• In order to secure proper licensing for vegan products, the laws further indicate that producers may not conduct animal testing, and that this will be taken into account in the final review of product safety.

5. Indian Vegan Food Market Trends
   
   

One of the major elements favorably affecting the industry in India is the growing public knowledge of the advantages of vegan diet over foods derived from animals ⁽⁸⁾.

Indian Market Share (in US$ Million)

Additionally, the demand for vegan diet is being driven by the rising prevalence of chronic diseases and an increase in personal health consciousness ⁽⁷⁾. To name a few startups who are making such eco-friendly choices are, Good Dot, Goodmylk, Evo foods, BVeg Foods, Imagine Meats, Blue Tribe Foods, and Plantmade.

6. Eurofins Services in Vegan Labeling ⁽⁹⁾
   
   

How Eurofins is contributing in vegan authenticity testing?

In recent times, many RTE (Ready to Eat) and Ready to Cook foods are being labelled as vegan or vegetarian diets. But many cases have been reported to contain traces of meat, either from shared production lines during manufacturing or any contamination in the supply chain. Eurofins is playing a major role in authenticity testing and traceability in these kinds of products. Eurofins provides a broad range of accredited targeted and non-targeted protein or DNA based techniques like ELISA, real time PCR and next generation sequence (NGS). All these tests provide accurate results in identifying the presence or absence of meat or fish species in food matrices.

Testing, verification and certification of Vegan Diets by Eurofins

Vegan Verification is an innovative programme launched from Eurofins Chem-MAP® which assesses risk materials and components, as well as providing testing of chemicals and materials, to establish whether any animal or by-products have been used in their formulations. Vegan Verification helps manufacturers, brands and retailers to correctly specify materials by implementing a phased approach, covering the manufacture of materials, chemical management, risk assessment, and testing to achieve vegan certification of materials. 
      

Testing and Verification Systems

Eurofins Chem-MAP® Vegan Verification helps manufacturers, brands and retailers to check test, and certify vegan chemicals to be used in relevant products. The Vegan Verification programme provides the chance to create vegan chemical management systems.

Eurofins Advantages

• Strong customer focus with quality service
• One-stop solution lab
• Reliability Assured and Delivered
• Lab with the latest equipment
• Competent, Qualified and Experienced analysts
• Dedicated Customer Support
• Customer needs a specific solution
• Trusted by top brands in India
• Applicable to wide range of food and feed matrices

References:

1. Bae SR, Bicki A, Coufal S, Jin E, Ku E. Cardiovascular disease risk factors and lifestyle modification strategies after pediatric kidney transplantation: what are we dealing with, and what can we target? Pediatr Nephrol. 2022 May 12.
2. Macknin M, Kong T, Weier A, Worley S, Tang AS, Alkhouri N, Golubic M. Plant-based, no-added-fat or American Heart Association diets: impact on cardiovascular risk in obese children with hypercholesterolemia and their parents. J Pediatr. 2015 Apr;166(4):953-9.e1-3.
3. Lee YM, Kim SA, Lee IK, Kim JG, Park KG, Jeong JY, Jeon JH, Shin JY, Lee DH. Effect of a Brown Rice Based Vegan Diet and Conventional Diabetic Diet on Glycemic Control of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A 12-Week Randomized Clinical Trial. PLoS One. 2016 Jun 2;11(6):e0155918.
4. Health.Harvard.edu
5. https://fssai.gov.in/upload/advisories/2022/07/62df709761476Guidelines_Vegan_Food_26_07_2022.pdf
6. https://fssai.gov.in/upload/notifications/2022/06/62ac3f9dba33cGazette_Notification_Vegan_Food_17_06_2022.pdf
7. Saldivar B, Al-Turk B, Brown M, Aggarwal M. Successful Incorporation of a Plant-Based Menu Into a Large Academic Hospital. Am J Lifestyle Med. 2021 Oct 18;16(3):311-317.
8. Khara T, Riedy C, Ruby MB. A cross cultural meat paradox: A qualitative study of Australia and India. Appetite. 2021 Sep 1;164:105227.
9. https://www.eurofins.in/food-testing/services/veganism-vegetarianism/

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