Analytical Report - Vegetarian meals

Forty eight samples of vegetarian meals were analysed to check for the levels of protein and iron against Recommended Nutritional Intake, coinciding with National Vegetarian Week (23- 29 May 2005)

Ready meals are very popular and recognising the increasing number of vegetarian consumers, many maunfacturers and retailers are now producing meals suitable for these consumers. The meat-free/vegetarain market was worth £630m last year, of which 20% is ready meals.

Poultry, meat and fish are regarded as good sources of protein and good sources of iron include liver and meat. There are therefore concerns that vegetarians may not have sufficient intake of these essential nutrients.

Summary of results

The concern that vegetarians may not have sufficient intake of protein and iron was borne out by the results. Most of the samples had a low protein content, as a result of being based on pasta. In many the main source of protein was cheese. The average protein was 4.68%, against an average for meat or fish based meals of perhaps double this. A typical meal would provide between 5 and 20g of protein, against a Recommended Nutritional Intake (RNI) of 50g/day.

The iron content of most meals was also low, typically less than 1mg/100g - against an RNI of 8.7mg/day for adult men and 14.8mg/day for adult women. The Department of Health recommends iron supplements for women with high menstrual loss. Since vegetarian meals are lower in iron than meat-based meals, this is probably desirable for an even larger proportion of vegetarian women. Many Hindus and Sikhs are vegetarian, and it has been shown that anaemia is twice as common in these groups, compared with similar European communities.

Iron is not usually declared on food labels but many manufacturers voluntarily provide details of the amount of protein provided. A well-balanced vegetarian diet is possible but consumers eating ready-meals should check the labels and ensure that their diet also contains some of the foods that are a regarded as a good source of iron and protein. Some examples are listed below.


Food	Good source of protein	Good source of iron
Pulses e.g. lentils and beans	Yes	Yes
Nuts	Yes	Yes
Eggs	Yes	Yes
Soya products e.g. tofu	Yes
Milk & dairy products	Yes
Dried fruit e.g. dried apricots, prunes		Yes
Whole grains e.g. brown rice and wholemeal bread		Yes
Fortified breakfast cereals		Yes
Dark leafy vegetables e.g. watercress, curly kale, spinach		Yes

Low iron intake can led to anaemia and anyone showing signs or symptoms such as being very tired or very pale should seek medical advice.

For further information on a vegetarian diet visit www.vegsoc.org (link opens in new window)

Report Date: February 2005

Analytical Report - Vegetarian meals

Summary of results

See also