Beyond Meat’s “Plant-Based” Burger Contains Synthetic Methylcellulose

Beyond Meat, Inc. (BYND) markets its products as sustainable, healthy alternatives to meat. The company launched its first product, designed to emulate frozen chicken strips, in 2012. By 2018, it had developed a range of substitute beef products, including Beyond Burger and Beyond Sausage. With backing from Bill Gates and on the strength of alliances with brands like Dunkin Donuts and Whole Foods, it now has an almost $10 billion market capitalization. But are consumers really getting the all-natural product they believe they are paying for?

Caddell & Chapman is investigating claims that Beyond Meat is misleading consumers by falsely claiming that its products do not contain synthetic ingredients. If you purchased Beyond Meat believing it to be an all-natural product, please fill out the form below or call us for a free consultation:

Beyond Meat advertises its products as “plant-based” meat substitutes. Consumers are assured that Beyond Meat is a “simple” product with no GMOs, hormones, or antibiotics. These claims create the impression that Beyond Meat is an all-natural product, and Beyond Meat claims that it contains “no synthetically produced ingredients.” In fact, however, a key ingredient in Beyond Meat is methylcellulose, a chemical compound that Wikipedia describes as “synthetically produced by heating cellulose with caustic solution (e.g. a solution of sodium hydroxide) and treating it with methyl chloride.” Also sold as a laxative, methyl cellulose is a non-digestible fiber that Beyond Meat uses as a binding agent.

Chemistry of methyl-cellulose:

When cellulose is heated with a caustic solution and treated with methyl chloride, the hydroxyl residues (-OH functional groups) are replaced by methoxide (-OCH₃ groups).

When consumers purchase what they believe to be a healthy, natural food, they should get exactly that. What Beyond Meat is selling, however, is a highly processed product held together by a synthetic chemical compound. If you have been injured by purchasing Beyond Meat products based on the misleading claim that they were all-natural, we would appreciate hearing from you.