Journal
NUTRIENTS
Volume 13, Issue 9, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/nu13093291
Keywords
dairy alternative; dairy substitute; cheese analogues; vegan cheese; vegetarian cheese; plant-based alternatives
Categories
Funding
- Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa 2019-2023 Program [CEX2018-000806-S]
- State Research Agency through the Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa 2019-2023 Program [CEX2018-000806-S]
- Generalitat de Catalunya through the CERCA Program
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This study evaluated the nutritional composition of plant-based cheese options available in Spanish supermarkets and found that coconut oil-based products are not considered healthy due to high saturated fats and salt content, while cashew nut and tofu-based products had a healthier profile. Replacing dairy cheese with the latter could be nutritionally beneficial. Future research should investigate the health effects of substituting dairy cheese with these plant-based alternatives.
Plant-based cheese is one of the most increasingly consumed dairy alternatives. Evidence is lacking on their nutritional quality. We aimed to evaluate the nutritional composition of the plant-based cheese options available in Spanish supermarkets, and how they compare with dairy cheese. An audit of plant-based cheese alternatives has been conducted in seven of the most common supermarkets. For each product, the nutritional content per 100 g and ingredients were collected. Data on generic dairy cheese were retrieved from the BEDCA website. Descriptive statistics (median, minimum and maximum) were used to characterize the plant-based cheese products, for both all the products and grouped by main ingredients (i.e., coconut oil, cashew nuts and tofu). Mann-Whitney U tests were used for comparisons between dairy and different types of plant-based cheese. The coconut oil-based products (the large majority of plant-based cheese products, n = 34) could not be considered as healthy foods. Their major ingredients were refined coconut oil and starches and were high in saturated fats and salt. The other smaller groups, cashew nut- (n = 4) and tofu-based (n = 2), showed a healthier nutritional profile. Replacing dairy cheese with these groups could be nutritionally beneficial. Future investigations should address the health effects of substituting dairy cheese with these products.
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