| Description |
As an emerging food category, plant-based meat substitutes (PBMS) offer sustainable alternatives to conventional meat, but concerns over their nutritional adequacy persist. Forty PBMS (e.g., burgers, sausages, and mince, primarily based on pea, soy, and wheat proteins) available in Czechia were analyzed for twelve elements. The analysis was performed using microwave-assisted acid decomposition followed by atomic absorption spectrometry. The focus was on: the contents of selected essential elements (Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, P, and Zn); a comparison of their contents with meat products; sodium (Na) levels; and the presence of potentially toxic trace elements (Cd, Pb, Ni). PBMS generally contained higher levels of Ca (10.2–201.1 mg/100 g), Mg (11.5–116 mg/100 g), and Fe (0.66–24.28 mg/100 g) than meat products, but lower levels of zinc (0.44–2.99 mg/100 g). Contents of key elements (Ca, Mg, Zn) significantly varied depending on the primary plant ingredient (pea, soy, or wheat), with Fe content showing no significant difference. Notably, sodium content was relatively high, equivalent to 1.0–4.1 g of salt per 100 g. The median contents of potentially toxic trace elements were below regulatory thresholds, though isolated samples showed elevated values.
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