A vegetarian dish.

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Vegetarian and vegan products sold by supermarkets are mainly composed of water and not vegetable proteins, the CLCV alerted on Monday.

The consumers' association thus pleads for the creation of an official label recognized by the State.

“More than half of the products are mainly composed of… water!

Ingredients of plant origin represent on average only 39% of the recipe ”, according to the results of the study conducted by the organization.

Vegetable pancakes are the best students with 53%.

The rest of the recipe consists of fat, salts, spices and additives.

Mass distribution: vegetarian and vegan products are mainly composed of water, denounces a study https://t.co/GxpL801seX via @Le_Figaro

- CLCV (@clcvorg) September 28, 2020

Additives and a lack of transparency

Among the 95 vegetarian and vegan products studied, “eight products out of ten contain at least one additive,” the document specifies.

The consumer defense association also points to the lack of transparency on the origin of ingredients, with only 19% of products specifying their real origin on their packaging, "especially when a mention such as" made in France "or a French flag appear on the packaging ”.

In addition, consuming these "ultra-processed" plant products "is not within the reach of all budgets", it is stressed in the study.

The price of a kilo of vegetable “steak” amounts to 13 euros, against 10.5 euros for the animal product.

Towards the creation of a label?

In addition, buying more expensive "will not guarantee a better Nutri-Score, more ingredients of vegetable origin and less additives", warns the CLCV.

Only 20% of the products studied indicated their nutritional profile, although overall they were “quite good from a nutritional point of view”.

83%, a portion calculated by the association, achieve an A or B grade.

It calls on manufacturers and distributors to display the Nutri-Score to allow "a rapid comparison of the nutritional qualities of products" and "the creation of an official label recognized by the State to provide reliable and clear information to the consumer".

The sector defends itself

For the Group for the Study and Promotion of Vegetable Proteins (GEPV), to say simply that these products are mainly composed of water, "is to ignore a very simple fact: vegetable proteins are in reality flour (...) which must necessarily be rehydrated to form food products ”.

As for the additives, the GEPV indicates in a press release that they are "used for particular functions, in particular to give a pleasant texture", and that they meet the "strict standards" of the European Food Safety Agency.

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