October 1 has been declared as world vegetarian day, and this is the date when awareness programs began focusing on meatless eating, vegetarian growth and trends, and how product development is growing in global markets. To meet the demands of consumers, alternatives to plant-based meat and dairy products are produced in abundance for vegetarians and vegans today.

More and more people are choosing the vegetarian diet today and associate it closely with health, fitness and well-being. In fact, concerns about animal welfare are also effective in attracting so much attention to vegetarian diets and turning to plant-based diets in general. More and more vegan products are becoming more common, and food producing companies are moving from vegetarian to vegan these days. According to studies, the plant-based food market is growing at double digits and has reached US $ 5 billion worldwide.

According to experts, plant-based innovations develop with the increasing interest of consumers in health, sustainability and ethics. Plant-based product claims are increasing significantly globally with growth in areas such as plant proteins, active botanicals, sweeteners, herbs and condiments, and coloring foodstuffs. Again, according to the results of a recent study, four out of ten consumers in the USA increased their consumption of alternative meat.

Vegetarians do not consume meat and processed meat products in order to be healthy, to protect the natural environment and to ensure animal welfare. Health concerns dominate many people at this point.

In this respect, vegetarian awareness events are organized in October every year and initiatives in this direction are encouraged. World vegetarian day began to be celebrated in 1977 and was approved by the International Vegetarian Union the following year. At these events, people from all over the world try to discover a wide variety of delicious and healthy non-meat foods and share the benefits of a vegetarian diet with people.

With a wide variety of vegetarian and vegan innovations, food producing companies address the growing expectations of consumers for meat-free diets as well as health trends. For example, sunflower and pea protein sausages are produced. In these products, sunflower flour with high protein, which is obtained by a special process during oil pressing, is used.

In short, the rising trend of plant-based foods is growing steadily.

What are Vegetarian Tests?

In some cases, ready-made meals and products labeled as suitable for vegetarians have been found to contain traces of meat originating from production lines shared during the production process or from a contaminated product in the supply chain. Many tests and analyzes for vegetarian foodstuffs are applied in advanced laboratories. The main vegetarian products whose authenticity and traceability have been evaluated, including tests and analysis, are:

  • Meat and fish species
  • allergens
  • Adulteration in meat products
  • Honey

At the same time, many parameters are taken into consideration during tests and analyzes and analytical test methods are applied. In addition, a range of targeted and untargeted protein or DNA-based techniques such as ELISA, real-time PCR, and next generation sequence (NGS) are used in the tests. All of these tests provide confirming results as to whether vegetarian products contain meat or fish types. These tests also detect types of meat or fish found in products. Testing of meat species using DNA analysis and fish speciation test are the main tests.

Before the tests are applied, the requirements of the company are determined and a recommendation is made to the company on which test method to use accordingly. It is important that the proposed test method is suitable for food products.

Today, fast and reliable results are obtained in advanced laboratories, fast return is provided and these tests are applied to a wide variety of food products. The important point for food companies is the accreditation of the laboratory where these tests will be performed. Test results and reports issued in accredited laboratories are valid all over the world.

TÜRCERT Technical Control and Certification Inc., accredited by national and international organizations, closely follows the developments in the world in the field of science and technology and has a strong staff that constantly improves itself. It also uses modern test equipment and applies test methods accepted all over the world. TÜRCERT also offers vegan and vegetarian certification services within the scope of testing and certification services it provides to companies from all sectors with this strong infrastructure.