Vegan burgers too salty, but less fatty than meat burgers

Vegan burgers often contain more salt than recommended by the Netherlands Nutrition Center, but so do meat burgers. On average, vegan burgers contain less fat than their meaty counterparts, according to a study by Dutch consumers' association Consumentenbond, NOS reports.

The Consumentenbond tested 16 meat substitute burgers and compared them to their meat counterparts.

Vegan burgers on average contain 1.4 grams of salt per 100 grams - about the same as the average meat burger. But this is above the 1.1 grams of salt prescribed for burgers by the Netherlands Nutrition Center.

When it comes to fat, vegan burgers seem to be healthier than their meaty counterparts. On average a minced meat burger contains 18 percent fat, of which 7.5 percent saturated fat. The average vegan burger is 10 percent fat, 2.5 percent of which is saturated fat.

On a protein front, vegan burgers and meat burgers are about the same - both on average contain about 17 grams of protein per 100 grams.

The Netherlands set a maximum limit of 1.53 grams of salt per 100 grams of meat substitutes, which takes effect in 2022. But Consumentenbond thinks this does not go far enough. "The majority of the burgers in the survey already comfortably meet this requirement. And it is still considerably higher than the Nutrition Center limit," the association said, according to NOS.