Early in 2022, the Australian Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee conducted an inquiry into the labelling of plant-based protein and dairy food products.
The inquiry suggested that food labels featuring images of livestock and descriptive terms such as ‘meat’, ‘beef’, ‘lamb’, ‘chicken’ and 'milk' may be contributing to consumer confusion, leading them to buy unintended items.
This claim – and a resultant ban on using these terms – could have serious implications for the plant-based food industry.
To test this claim, ISF was asked by No Meat May and Vegan Australia to undertake an independent national consumer survey. The First-of-a-kind study asked 1,014 consumers across all Australian states and territories, including rural and regional areas, about their experience with and perceptions of plant-based foods.
The survey found that, although plant-based proteins were new to them, most Australians were not confused by labelling, but that mistaken items are bought for a variety of reasons.
Key findings
- Although the majority of Australians identify as being omnivore (76%), more than a quarter indicate (26%) say they would like to cut back on animal products and eat more plant-based foods.
- About 8 in 10 Australians say they have previously seen, heard and/or read about plant-based meats, and half of those who are aware have tried plant-based meats at some point previously.
- In terms of substituting animal-based meats for plant-based meats over the next 12 months, a little more than quarter (27%) said they are likely to do so, and 24% being somewhat ambivalent. Compared to national numbers, a higher number of younger people say they are likely to substitute animal-based meat with plant-based meat products i.e., 36% of people aged 18-34 years and 30% of people aged 35-54 years say they are likely. Those dwelling in metro regions (29%) are also more likely as compared to rural regions (20%).
- When it comes to food labels, majority spontaneously indicate they can tell the difference between plant-based and animal-based meat products based on product labels. The use of animal images on plant-based meats is however potentially more confusing.
- When shown randomised images of both plant-based and animal-based meat products, 9 in 10 said that, overall, they can tell the difference between plant-based and animal-based meat products, based on names, descriptions and images.
-
We also asked Australians if they had ever mistakenly bought or eaten a plant-based meat product thinking it was animal-based meat. Of the 12% who answered 'Yes', the majority (70%) said this occurred at a market/ supermarket when shopping for food, and that they were in a hurry/ distracted and did not read the product label (67%). With only 4% of the total people surveyed reporting when they had made an error because they were confused by what the product actually was.
- In this regard, the findings from our study indicate the majority of Australians are not confused by food labels, and can clearly tell the difference between plant-based and animal-based meat products based on names, labels and product descriptions.
RESEARCH OUTPUTS
Australian consumer perceptions of plant-based meats and food labels: A national study (2022) (Summary)
Researchers
-
Senior Research Consultant -
Professor and Director, ISF
Year
- 2022
Clients
- No Meat May
- Vegan Australia
