Plant-based products: Analysis of international regulations and strategies used for designation and labeling in Brazil

The consumption of vegetarian/vegan products that mimic the taste and appearance of animal products has grown worldwide. The objective of this study was to investigate the designations of these products in the Brazilian market, focusing on terms that may mislead consumers. The designations were evaluated concerning four aspects: i) use of the terms “vegan," "vegetarian," or similar ones; ii) misuse of standardized animal product designations; iii) misspelling of standardized animal product designations; iv) use of the terms “type” or “flavor” associated with the name of the animal products. There were 335 samples analyzed, 93 from supermarkets and 242 from websites, corresponding to three categories of analogs: meat (n = 154), dairy (n = 148), and others (n = 33). The terms “vegan” and “vegetarian” were used in 44.5% of the samples. It was concluded that most products had the wrong designations, reinforcing the need for regulation of such products in Brazil. •Most plant-based products used the designations of corresponding products of animal origin.•∼50% of the sample products bore the term “vegan” or “vegetarian” in their packaging designations.•Many countries such as Brazil do not have a specific legislation regarding vegetarian/vegan products.