The popularity of vegan diets continues to extend world wide. Indeed, in 2023, the vegan grocery store grew to greater than US$27 billion.
The term “vegan” often refers to foods that contain no animal ingredients (meat, poultry, eggs, milk, fish, seafood).
While some consumers consider them to be healthier, vegan foods are also an interesting alternative for consumers concerned in regards to the environment, sustainable development, and animal welfare.
But one other variety of consumer could also be turning to those products for a totally different reason: people who find themselves allergic to proteins of animal origin, similar to cow’s milk and eggs.
In view of this, our research groupa pacesetter in food allergen risk evaluation in Canada, decided to explore the next two questions:
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Do consumers who’re allergic to animal proteins consider vegan products to be protected?
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And, in that case, are these products truly protected for them?
What’s in it for consumers with allergies?
The answers to those questions are crucial for individuals with food allergies who risk suffering potentially severe reactions (anaphylaxis) from consuming these products.
Food allergies affect around six per cent of Canadiansincluding 0.8 per cent who’re allergic to eggs, and 1.1 per cent to take advantage of.
Despite the indisputable fact that different forms of immunotherapy or allergen desensitization have shown promising results, probably the most effective strategy for avoiding allergic reactions continues to be to refrain from eating foods that will contain allergens.
When buying pre-packaged foods, consumers with allergies depend on declarations within the list of ingredients to discover foods which might be protected for them. Regulatory authorities who’re accountable for the standard and safety of food recognize the importance of accurate ingredients declarations for allergic consumers. Thus, it’s mandatory to list every allergen that has been voluntarily added to a pre-packaged food item.
However, in the case of ingredients which may be unintentionally present — for instance, as on account of cross-contact during food processing — there’s a regulatory gap. These ingredients are generally identified with the warning “may contain,” which is used (or sometimes overused) voluntarily and randomly by food processors.
Furthermore, the term “vegan” is neither standardized nor defined in Canadian regulations. In fact, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency notes that, with regard to using the term “vegan,”
…firms can apply additional criteria or standards that take account of other aspects along with the ingredients of the food.
However, details or examples of those elements aren’t provided. This lack of a precise regulatory definition prevents the implementation of compliance requirements.
Yet, most recalls of products marketed as “vegan” are on account of the presence of undeclared ingredients of animal origin, specifically milk and eggs.
What do consumers with food allergies say?
In this context, and as a part of a survey of consumers with allergies conducted in collaboration with Food Allergy Canadawe asked participants who indicated that they were allergic (or were the parents of a toddler who was allergic) to eggs or milk in the event that they bought products marketed as “vegan.”
Of the 337 respondents, 72 per cent said they often included these products of their purchases, 14 per cent said they all the time did, and 14 per cent never.
These results suggest that these consumers do, indeed, consider the claim “vegan” as an indicator of the absence of animal proteins — an absence which, again, isn’t supported by any regulatory requirement or definition.
Since the absence of those ingredients isn’t guaranteed, these consumption habits could put people who find themselves allergic to eggs and/or milk in danger.
An education campaign to make clear that the term “vegan” is an indicator of dietary preferences and never risks would subsequently be necessary for this community.
(Shutterstock)
Do vegan products contain ingredients of animal origin?
The indisputable fact that 86 per cent of survey respondents buy “vegan” products suggests that the incidence of allergic reactions linked to those foods is potentially rare.
We subsequently analyzed the egg and milk protein content of “vegan” and “plant-based” products marketed in Québec.
A complete of 124 products were analyzed for the presence of egg (64) and/or milk (87) proteins.
Egg protein was not detected in any samples, but five samples contained milk proteins: these included 4 dark chocolate bars marketed as “certified vegan” and a supermarket brand chestnut cake.
These five products declared the potential presence of milk with a warning, “may contain milk.”
We used the concentrations of milk proteins quantified in these products, combined with the quantities of the food that will be consumed in a single eating occasion, to calculate an exposure dose, in milligrams of allergen protein. We then estimated the probability of those doses upsetting a response within the allergic populations concerned through the use of correlation models. Our results show that the calculated doses could trigger reactions in six per cent of milk-allergic consumers, for the chocolate bars, and one per cent, for the cake.
How can consumers with food allergies protect themselves?
Although this level of risk could also be perceived as low, it’s more likely to vary abruptly. And this can remain the case until regulatory requirements are put in place.
In fact, fairly than attributing it to the presence of a “vegan” or “plant-based” claim, this level of risk more than likely reflects good allergen management practicescharacteristic of the North American food manufacturing sector.
Thus, even when a press release “may contain milk” seems contradictory in a “vegan” or “plant-based” product, people allergic to take advantage of should interpret it as a sign that this product may pose a risk to their health.
