India is well-known for having a large vegetarian population. But Veganism goes beyond being vegetarian and its popularity is growing in many countries including India. The growth of the vegan food market is mainly due to the negative health consequences of eating animal products which include Cancer, heart diseases, hormonal imbalance, antibiotic resistance, as well as the ethical and environmental impact of animal agriculture. The plant-based food market is experiencing unprecedented growth with the demand for vegan food products taking a giant leap. Consumers now seem to be making the shift towards plant-based foods like ‘Mock Meat’, ‘Plant-Based Meat’ and ‘Plant-Based Milks’. In a Global Vegan Food Market Report, the global market for vegan food reached a value of USD 15.4 billion in 2020. The market is further expected to grow at a CAGR of 9% in the forecast period of 2021-2026 to reach a value of around USD 26.1 billion by 2026.

Non-Vegetarian, Vegetarian, and Vegan Diet

The debate over which type of diet, whether a Non- Vegetarian, Vegetarian, or Vegan diet is healthy has been around for several decades. A non-vegetarian diet majorly includes chicken, meat, egg, fish, and other types of seafood. It is a diet rich in proteins and  Vitamin B12, which is naturally found in foods of animal origin.

A vegetarian diet on the other hand leaves out chicken, meat, fish, and egg, but they consume honey, milk, and other dairy products whereas a vegan diet is completely plant-based, leaving out anything that is sourced from animals. Vegans also consider it as a way of living through which they attempt to exclude all forms of exploitation and cruelty to animals in the form of food, clothing, or any other purpose like avoiding products tested on animals.

Vegans vs Meat Eaters: A recent study

During a recent study conducted by King’s College, London, a set of identical twins Ross Turner and Hugo Turner took part in a study that involved Hugo going plant-based while Ross consumed meat for a period of 12 weeks to see which diet was healthiest. They ate the same amount of calories and carried out the same workout regime. Their weight, cholesterol, and body fat levels were monitored along with other parameters. At the end of 12 weeks of study, Hugo saw a decrease in his body weight and his cholesterol levels dropped, whereas Ross gained weight. The study also explored the gut microbiota and Hugo’s gut microbiome had gained more resilience towards type 2 diabetes and obesity, which proves that vegan diets help reduce these risks by helping the microbiome. However, most surprisingly, both Hugo’s and Ross’s gut microbial diversity had suffered due to their diets. Although Ross’s microbiome changed only slightly, it remained much more consistent than Hugo’s, who was on a vegan diet. However, it is still unclear whether a vegan diet can be prescribed to alter the gut microflora for long-term health benefits.

What does FSSAI say about Vegan Foods?

The emerging trend of Veganism has led to increased production of plant-based and vegan foods and to keep a check on the regulatory aspects of the products marketed as vegan, on September 2021, FSSAI published a draft regulation called the Food Safety and Standards (Vegan Foods) Regulations, 2021. Through this, the food authority has provided the general requirements, compliance, labeling, and display requirements for Vegan foods. The regulator has also specified the procedure for endorsement of the vegan logo and made it mandatory for all Vegan foods to have the “Vegan Logo” after endorsement.

The regulator defines Vegan Food as those foods or food ingredients that have not made use of any ingredients, additives, and processing aids of animal origin including milk and milk products, fish, poultry and meat, egg or egg products, honey or honey bee products, materials of insect origin like silk, dyes, chitin/ chitosan, etc or ingredients that are clarified using animal-sourced products eg., bone char used in sugar bleaching, isinglass in clarifying beer, etc. 

Are all Plant-Based foods really Vegan?

Although Veganism is still nascent in India, the “Plant-Based” food trend which is growing extremely popular in recent times has made people curious about the idea as they look forward to including more and more plant-based options into their diet. But “Plant-Based” is loosely defined as products whose based ingredients are from plants. As an example, the meat used in a burger patty could be replaced by jackfruit, or pea protein or any other plant protein. But that necessarily does not guarantee that it is Vegan. These products may contain byproducts that are of animal origin. These ingredients can be in the form of additives, processing aids, etc, and the only way to know this exactly is to check the food labels thoroughly before consuming it. The other easy way would be if the product had a Vegan logo on it. Below is the list of foods that commonly use animal-derived ingredients during processing.

Foods that might be processed with animal-derived ingredients 

Beer and Wine: In the process of beer and winemaking, some manufacturers use egg white albumen, gelatin and casein as fining agents. Others sometimes use isinglass, which is a substance collected from fish bladders. These are used to clarify their final product.  

Candy: It is a well-known fact that few jellies, marshmallows and candies are made from gelatin, which is a protein derived from the collagen in cow or pigskin, tendons, ligaments, and/or bones. It is often used as a thickening or stabilizing agent in candies.

Bread: L-Cysteine (INS  920) is an amino acid used as a stabilizer in bread. It is derived from either human hair or poultry feathers.

Refined sugar and Brown sugar: Sugar is not naturally white so bone char, which is often referred to as natural carbon, is used to whiten sugar. Bone char is made from the bones of cattle.

Non-Dairy Creamer: Many of these “non-dairy” creamers contain casein, a protein derived from milk.

Yoghurt: Few Yoghurts contain red colour dye extracted from Cochineals which are insects that are ground to make a natural red food colour called the carmine.

Coating in fresh produce and candy: Shellac is a resin secreted by the female lac insect. It is sometimes used to make a food glaze for candy. Beeswax or shellac is used on fresh produce like fruits and vegetables.

Additives derived from animal ingredients

Several food additives can be derived from animal ingredients. INS 631, Disodium 5’-guanylate which is used as a flavour enhancer has been commercially prepared from meat or fish. Few other animal-derived additives are INS 904 – Shellac, INS 901- Beeswax, INS 913 – Lanolin, INS 120 – Carmine, INS 542- Bone phosphate. So it is advisable to know more about the source of additives before consuming it. 

If you are confused about what additives are derived from animals, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), an animal rights organization has a list of animal-derived ingredients and their alternatives that can help you to find the animal ingredients in food, cosmetics, and other products.

Although food choices are based on personal preferences, it is a well-known fact that each type of diet has its own merits and demerits. Whether you’re a vegan, vegetarian, or meat-lover, the informed food choices you make is what really matters. If you are someone who is planning to go vegan, there is a wide variety of plant-based and Vegan products available in the market, and going vegan is easier than ever before with veganism becoming increasingly mainstream as people start to understand the benefits of living life the vegan way.

Author: Surabhi Soral is a Food Technologist and passionate about setting things right in the first go. She is a Consultant at Food Safety Works and heads the regulatory and compliance team.