First consignment of plant-based meat products under Vegan food category exported to USA from Gujarat

Source: The post is based on the article “First consignment of plant-based meat products under Vegan food category exported to USA from Gujarat” published in PIB on 22nd September 2022

What is the News?

Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Authority (APEDA) has facilitated the export of the first consignment of plant-based meat products under the Vegan food category from Gujarat to the United States of America (USA).

What are Plant Based meat products?

Plant-based meat is basically meat derived from plants. It is manufactured to taste, look, and feel like traditional meat from animal products. 

Plant-based meat is healthier than regular meat as it is lower in calories and saturated fats.

Significance of the Plant-based meat industry

According to Forbes, India is the largest producer of pulses in the world, accounting for 25% of the total output; however, more than 70% of the people in India are protein deficient. 

Deficiency can be caused by a lack of awareness and less consumption of a sufficient amount of protein on a regular basis.

Plant-based protein sources can play a vital role in treating deficiency as they not only offer varieties but are also pocket-friendly.

What is the difference between Plant-based and cultured meat?

Plant-based meats are made of plant-derived ingredients but are designed to look and taste like real meat.

Cultured meat, on the other hand, is a fairly new concept that refers to meat grown in a lab from a small sample of cells taken from an animal.

The procedure requires the extraction of stem cells from a donor animal, which then proliferate to produce animal tissue structures.