Meat Analog Products: Current Worldwide Scenario and Future Perspectives in Consumption and Regulation

TL;DR

This paper reviews the global state of meat analog products, highlighting the need for clearer regulations to guide consumer understanding and promote sustainable food choices.

Contribution

The paper provides a comprehensive review of meat analog regulation and consumption trends, emphasizing the need for standardized frameworks.

Findings

Most countries lack specific regulations for meat analogs, relying on general labeling standards.

Consumer confidence and market adoption of meat substitutes depend on clear regulatory frameworks.

Meat analogs are seen as sustainable options but require better regulation for widespread acceptance.

Abstract

Interest in plant-based diets has grown expressively in different regions of the world. However, the missing regulation for meat analogs may mislead consumers by suggesting that these products are the same as the meat they are replacing. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the current global scenario of meat analogs, discuss consumption changes and their regulation, as well as pointing out future perspectives for the sector. A narrative literature review was performed using scientific papers from the Virtual Health Library (BVS), LILACS, PubMed (NIH), Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, and official documents. Included studies were aligned with the research theme, concentrating on countries with regulations for plant-based analog products and those lacking or pursuing such regulations. Additionally, studies were selected based on the following criteria: original or review studies from different countries, papers discussing meat analogs in terms of consumption, sensory attributes, market dynamics, sustainability, regulation, food safety; availability of full text; and publication dates ranging from 2015 to 2025. The data reveals that most of the assessed nations still lack specific regulations for meat analog products, adopting general labeling and naming standards that range from flexible approaches to strict restrictions. To conclude, the article highlights that meat substitutes are emerging as promising and sustainable options; however, their true consolidation is conditioned on the existence of more defined regulatory frameworks, increased consumer confidence, and market conditions that favor their large-scale adoption.

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