Reacción a "A UK study estimates that replacing dairy products with plant-based alternatives could reduce iodine intake by up to 28 per cent"

This is a modelling study; however, the sample size should be larger for this type of analysis, which means that it does not establish any kind of causality. It highlights what other studies have already confirmed, although in this case the study was conducted solely on oats, as in other studies that have already been published. The study focuses on several micronutrients: iodine, calcium, riboflavin (vitamin B2) and cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12), which are often deficient in this type of food product, but they should also have analysed others such as: vitamins A, D, K and E, or selenium, zinc or even phosphorus, given the importance of the calcium-to-phosphorus ratio (2 - 1.5:1) for calcium absorption.

The study is well designed, although the title might initially give the impression that it covers all plant-based food products, when in fact it only covers those containing or made from oats; in other words, products made from soya, rice, almonds, etc., are not compared. This implies that the title should mention oats, as well as the country or territory in which the study was conducted – the United Kingdom – as has been the case with other similar studies published in scientific journals, such as that by Khalil and Herter-Aeberli in 2023 for Switzerland or that by Lawrence et al. in 2025 for Australia. The title should specify the territory for which the sample was analysed.

Furthermore, for all studies of this type carried out on plant-based food products analogous to milk and dairy products, the terminology used deviates from what is envisaged under risk management within the concept of risk analysis in the context of food safety. For plant-based drinks, the term ‘alternative’ should not be used; instead, ‘analogue’ or ‘equivalent’ should be used. The study should use the term Plant-based analogue or Plant-based equivalent, but should not be titled: Plant-based alternative. Therefore, the study should have been titled: Replacing dairy with plant-based analogues could reduce iodine intake, but fortification would prevent this, modelling study suggests.

This study clearly demonstrates that these food products, whilst they may have significant nutritional value, do not have the same composition. Although the timing of consumption may be equivalent to that of milk or dairy products, if they are not fortified – particularly with calcium, iodine, vitamin B2 and vitamin B12 – according to these findings, they could lead to nutritional deficiencies, which in turn could result in nutritional deficits.