Most fish substitutes are not a good alternative to fish, the Consumers’ Association says based on a report last week published research. Many plant-based fish alternatives lack useful substances that make fish healthy.
The Consumers’ Association examined 22 vegetable substitutes for salmon, fish sticks and tuna. The fish substitutes, like many ready-made meat substitutes, are made from soy, wheat protein or rice. The products can be fortified with iron, vitamin B12 and algae oil, but the research shows that this rarely happens.
Fish naturally contains omega-3 fatty acids, such as EPA and DHA. Because these substances are missing in most fish substitutes, the fish alternatives do not contribute to the expected health benefits. In addition to the lack of fish fatty acids, the amount of protein is too low and the salt content is too high in more than half of the fish substitutes.
According to the consumer association, only three of the 22 fish substitutes examined constitute a full-fledged alternative: the seasoned and unseasoned fish-free tuna from Seasogood and the PlanTuna from Unfished. The products are enriched with algae, which, like natural fish, contain the mineral iodine and the fish fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).