This photo, provided by Fresheasy, shows a burger made with vegan meat.
SEOUL, June 10 (Korea Bizwire) — Plant-based alternative meat is cholesterol-free, and contains more protein than beef patties used for hamburgers, a consumer advocacy group said Thursday.
The Korea Consumer Agency tested the quality and safety of 15 plant-based meat products, which did not contain any cholesterol.
In contrast, the protein level for every 100 grams of meat stood at 17 grams, accounting for 31 percent of the recommended daily intake.
The plant-based alternatives had a higher level of protein than ordinary beef patties used to make hamburgers (12 grams, 22 percent of the recommended daily intake).
Four of the alternative meat products were highlighted for improvement after it was shown that they had saturated fat levels of 6 to 16 grams for every 100 grams, accounting for 40 to 107 percent of the recommended daily intake.
Three of the products contained 715 to 1,150 milligrams of sodium, accounting for 36 to 58 percent of the recommended daily intake, generally higher than other products.
Some of the products claimed to be vegan on their packaging but turned out to contain animal-based ingredients like eggs.
The Korea Consumer Agency plans to request that the government establish standards to ensure the consumer’s right to choose, in order to overcome the lack of proper regulations on plant-based alternatives to meat.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
