Just 2% think Quorn sausages are meat; FSA issues cultivated guidance
Just 2% of 1,007 UK adults polled by Bryant Research thought Quorn's meat-free sausages or THIS Isn't Chicken contained meat, which weakens the confusion case behind EU naming limits.
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Just 2% of 1,007 UK adults polled by Bryant Research thought Quorn's meat-free sausages or THIS Isn't Chicken contained meat, which weakens the confusion case behind EU naming limits [96].
02
The UK Food Standards Agency issued its third batch of cultivated-meat guidance while a UK-EU trade deal threatens to void British approvals [84].
03
Greenforce bought Berlin vegan egg maker Neggst ahead of its own LIVEKINDLY takeover, another step in alt-protein consolidation [97].
04
Closer adherence to the MIND diet was linked to slower grey matter loss over 12 years in the Framingham cohort, an association and not proof of cause [15].
05
A Harris Poll commissioned by PETA found 71% of US adults call wool as cruel as fur, an advocacy result worth reading as such [126].
Survey of 1,007 UK adults finds almost none think Quorn sausages contain meat
Photo: vegconomist
Bryant Research asked a nationally representative sample whether Quorn's meat-free sausages and THIS Isn't Chicken contain meat from an animal, to test the argument that words like "sausage" and "chicken" mislead shoppers [96]. The two products fall on opposite sides of Regulation (EU) 2026/1739, which reserves "chicken" but leaves "sausage" and "burger" off its list [96]. The published results do not say when the survey was fielded or which panel provider was used [96].
“This is strong evidence against the claim that consumers are confused by [plant-based] products using the words ‘sausage’ and ‘chicken’ in their names”
2%of adults shown the two products believed either contained animal meat [96]
96% and 94%answered correctly for the Quorn sausages and THIS Isn't Chicken, averaged by Bryant Research into a headline 95% [96]
31designations reserved for meat products under the regulation, applying from August 19, 2029 [96]
WatchMembers of the European Parliament's agriculture committee have tabled amendments to add "burger" and "sausage"; the committee vote is scheduled for December and a plenary vote follows in 2027 [96].
Greenforce acquires vegan egg maker Neggst ahead of its own Livekindly takeover
Photo: vegconomist
Munich-based Greenforce has bought Neggst, the Berlin maker of vegan egg whites, yolks and poached, scrambled, bite and patty formats, and the sale was tied to an investment in Greenforce by Neggst's shareholders [97]. Greenforce signed on July 1 to be acquired by LIVEKINDLY Collective, a deal still waiting on regulatory approval, and Neggst co-founder Verónica García-Arteaga is leaving after the takeover [97][85]. Vienna's Revo Foods, which makes 3D-printed alt-seafood, is raising €2 million, has €1 million secured, and targets profitability by Q3 2027 [66].
“I think we see in the industry that maybe plant based is not really a VC case anymore. They’re all looking for unicorns, and I don’t think that in our industry there will be a lot of unicorns.”
UK FSA publishes third batch of cultivated meat guidance as EU trade deal looms
Photo: green queen
The Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland published two papers, on regulatory authorisation and on growth-media toxicology, bringing the cultivated-meat sandbox to eight guidance documents [84]. The UK-EU sanitary and phytosanitary agreement, due in mid-2027, could render UK authorisations void, and the FSA has reportedly warned around 600 approval holders and businesses [84]. Only London-based Meatly has been cleared to sell cultivated meat in the UK, and only as pet food [84].
“Further progress across all these areas is on hold as we and our prospective partners wait for clarity on whether Britain will retain the ability to develop its own regulatory pathway for biotechnologies”
BeneMeat, Czech cultivated-meat firm, in an open letter · [84]
“The regulated products framework in Great Britain is the same as the one used in the EU”
MIND diet adherence linked to slower brain shrinkage in Framingham cohort
Photo: sciencedaily
Among 1,647 middle-aged and older adults in the Framingham Heart Study Offspring cohort followed a median 12.3 years, greater MIND diet adherence was associated with slower decline in total grey matter volume [15]. The MIND plan counts poultry, fish and moderate wine alongside berries, leafy greens, beans and nuts, and it is a prospective cohort study, so it shows association and not cause [12][15]. At the food level the results were mixed: higher whole grain intake tracked with faster grey matter loss, and higher cheese intake with slower loss [12].
“MIND-recommended foods rich in antioxidants, such as berries, and high-quality protein sources like poultry may reduce oxidative stress and mitigate neuronal damage”
study authors, Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry · [12]
By the numbers
0.279 cm³/yearslower grey matter decline per three-point rise in MIND score (95% CI 0.089 to 0.469) [15]
20.1%attenuation of age-related change, which the authors equate to 2.5 years of reduced brain ageing over the 12.3-year follow-up [15]
−0.071 cm³/yearslower lateral ventricle enlargement, about 1.0 year of delayed brain ageing [15]
FromPrimary SourcesNutrition Research News -- ScienceDaily
Worth Knowing
Food & Recipes
BOSH! put three chilled grain bowls into Tesco stores nationwide at £4.75 each, printing the plant-variety count on the pack, up to 17 in the Mediterranean Orzo & Beans bowl [63].
Innovation
One Planet Pizza launches tofu tikka masala, Mac & Cheeze and a lentil ragù lasagne in 276 Asda stores from 12 October, and says Food Warehouse will swap conventional pizzas for its range from January 2027 [98].
The FDA's proposed rule to make GRAS notification mandatory is open for comment until December 9, which matters to precision-fermented proteins that reached shelves on self-affirmed conclusions [93].
Wins & Culture
Bristol City Council banned high-carbon ads on its property, including flights, SUVs and ultra fast fashion, and Hackney's mayor has pledged to bar factory-farmed meat and dairy ads from council land [154].
Allie Taylor, founder of Voters For Animal Rights, was named director of New York City's Mayor's Office of Animal Welfare [155].
Research & Nutrition
Depression scores improved when 20 people cut ultra-processed food by more than 85% in a UCSF pilot crossover trial, too small to settle anything, with a larger trial planned to enrol from 2028 [13][16].
One Good Thing
In July, three black-faced lion tamarins on the coast of Paraná, Brazil, became the first of their species vaccinated against yellow fever, lifted from the canopy by field researchers from the conservation group SPVS and weighed in cotton bags inside a tent in a forest clearing [110]. Fewer than 400 of these primates live in the wild and none in captivity, so one outbreak could erase the species [110]. Veterinarian Paula Mangini says howler monkeys vanished from nearby Superagui Island when yellow fever passed through, and that is the reason someone carried small cages down a jungle trail [110].
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