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As plant-based eating continues to grow in popularity, many shoppers are swapping meat and dairy for supermarket alternatives they see as healthier or more sustainable. But a new study suggests the reality behind these products may be more complicated.
Researchers who compared plant-based foods with their animal-based counterparts found that the alternatives often came with longer ingredient lists—and far more additives.
The study, led by the Institute for Optimum Nutrition in London and published in Food Additives & Contaminants: Part A, took a close look at what is actually inside everyday supermarket items. Instead of comparing entirely different foods, the team selected 71 matched pairs—plant-based and animal-based versions of the same types of products.
This meant putting items like almond milk alongside dairy milk, vegan brownies next to traditional ones, and plant-based meat alternatives against regular meat. Ready meals and staples, including lasagna, yoghurt, mayonnaise and pesto, were also included.
What emerged was a clear pattern. Across the full sample, plant-based products contained 199 additives—nearly double the 100 identified in the animal-based versions. Ingredient lists were longer too, with 1,566 ingredients recorded across the plant-based range compared with 1,110 in the animal-based group. E-numbers, often used as a marker of food processing, were also slightly higher.
“We found roughly twice as many food additives in the total sample of plant-based products compared to animal-based ones: 199 versus 100,” said senior author Joseph Whittaker.
The biggest differences were seen in categories where plant-based products are designed to mimic traditional foods, particularly dairy, meat and fish. These substitutes often rely on additional ingredients to recreate texture, flavor and appearance.
Whittaker told Newsweek that the most striking gaps weren’t limited to obvious categories like plant milks or meat substitutes.
“We also saw large differences in products such as pasta sauces and cookie dough, where small amounts of dairy or meat in conventional versions were being replicated in plant-based versions using additional functional ingredients,” he said.
Still, the researchers are careful not to frame their findings as a warning against plant-based diets.
“However, even though we found that plant-based products had more food additives this does not necessarily mean an increased health risk,” Whittaker said. He noted that the study did not measure how much of each additive was present, or how often people consume these foods.
“We don’t know the level of exposure of food additives from these products,” he said.
The timing of the research reflects a broader shift in how people are eating. Meat consumption has declined in recent years, while more consumers identify as flexitarian or follow plant-based diets at least part of the time.
At the same time, there has been growing scrutiny of ultra-processed foods and a push for simpler, more recognizable ingredient lists—a movement often referred to as the “clean label” trend.
The team also acknowledges the limits of what their research can show. The analysis focused on one supermarket range, meaning the results may not reflect all plant-based products on the market. Further studies, across different brands and countries, would be needed to build a clearer picture.
Whittaker also added that their analysis focused specifically on processed products, those that mimic the texture and flavor of animal-based products, and not whole plant foods.
“Foods like legumes, grains, and tofu are inherently lower in formulation complexity and don’t rely on the same kinds of additives used in processed substitutes,” he said.
Another unanswered question is how processed these alternative foods are compared to the products they replace.
“One really interesting area that our study did not assess is the level of processing of plant-based products,” Whittaker said. He suggested that people relying heavily on these alternatives “may end up on a highly refined diet,” though more evidence is needed to confirm this.
For now, he points to a simpler approach. “I would argue that plant-based dieters should focus on whole-foods that are naturally plant-based, rather than trying to replicate animal-based foods,” Whittaker said.
“A key missing piece is stronger evidence on real-world health impacts. We need more human data tracking exposure to specific additives over time, because current toxicology evidence is limited and often based on animal studies. Ideally, future research would combine large-scale human observational data with carefully designed intervention studies, although the latter raises ethical and practical challenges.”
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