Vegan diet warning

A food safety expert has warned that the rise in popularity of a vegan diet could cause widespread malnutrition in Britain and other wealthy countries.

Professor Chris Elliot, who was in charge of the inquiry into food fraud for the government after the horse meat scandal in 2013, says some plant-based diets can be lacking in essential nutrients.

In a piece for The Conversation, a website backed by universities, he said: “Bone health is a concern for long-term vegans.

“Vegans are consistently reported to have lower intakes of calcium and vitamin D, with lower blood levels of vitamin D and lower bone mineral density reported worldwide.”