Half of Europeans think that consuming ultra-processed foods is bad for your health, but the same proportion consumes them often and regularly. A paradox raised by a study which urges health authorities to inform consumers about processing methods, because this confusion dissuades them from opting for plant-based alternatives replacing meat which are perceived as ultra-processed foods.
Although they are aware of the harmful effects of consuming ultra-processed foods on their health, Europeans do not put all products in the same basket. They know how to make a gap for chips, but not for pea or soy pancakes.
Dates in the vegan spread, algaealgae and salmonsalmon to replace meat in dumplings Chinese, jackfruit to prepare a meat imitation of a country pâté… During the last International Food Innovation Exhibition in Paris (SIAL), we saw a whole bunch of new vegetable recipes which all had the same objective: to improve the flavor of these alternatives to meat. Many of these new foods also tried to convince by promising fewer additives, colorings and other chemical additions.
For plant-based substitutes to truly enter European menus, brands would undoubtedly need to focus more on this second axis because 36% of consumers on the Old Continent consider vegan chicken pieces to be ultra-processed foods, as do 34%. regarding vromage (the vegan version of cheese) reveals the latest report from theEIT Food Consumer Observatory.
An exception for chips and candy
Europeans eat chips, ready-made dishes with sauce or even sweets, so why wouldn’t they eat these plant-based alternatives which are no longer allowed to be referred to in France as steaks since the publication of a decree prohibiting the use of terms related to meat?
This is the paradox revealed by this large-scale survey carried out among more than 10,000 consumers in 17 European countries. If 55% of them eat ultra-processed foods at least once a week, the same proportion (54%) admit to avoiding meat substitutes, not for their taste but because they classify them in the category ultra-processed products. This reality is all the more striking as it concerns 53% of consumers who have no dietary restrictions (religious or medical).
Information to enable informed choices
Europeans are in fact perfectly aware of the harmful consequences of consuming ultra-processed foods on their health: for 65%, these are unhealthy, and for 67%, they contribute to obesity, diabetes and other diseases. other medical problems. Their composition also made the headlines a few weeks ago during the publication of a study carried out jointly by Inrae and Inserm. Based on a sample of 92,000 French people, this research revealed possible links between the ingestion of certain emulsifying food additives and an increased risk of developing cancers, particularly breast and breast cancer. prostateprostate.
However, 15% of Dutch people consume ultra-processed foods every day, as do 12% of Irish and British people, 9% of Germans and 7% of French people. In other words, the Europeans concerned know how to make a sprainsprain to eat chips, but not to choose a pea pancake. To understand this choice, we must look more closely at the composition of the first: their recipe is in fact intended to send signals of pleasure to our brainbrainnotably throughlactic acidslactic acids and citric that make you salivate.
