Flora Buttery — ENGINEERED

Munch or Dump rates Flora Buttery by Flora ENGINEERED — score 30/90.

A lab-built butter mimic: a blend of refined oils held together with an emulsifier, then flavored and dyed with beta carotene to look and taste like the real thing.

Why this verdict

• Refined oil blend emulsified into a butter mimic, not a whole food
• Sunflower lecithin emulsifier plus added flavourings and colour = engineered
• Beta carotene is added purely to dye it butter-yellow
• Natural flavourings are used to fake a dairy taste it doesn't have
• It is a highly processed spread (NOVA 4), just without artificial junk

Ingredients (8)

• Vegetable oils (rapeseed, sunflower, linseed) (moderate) — Industrially refined seed oils. Rapeseed and linseed bring some omega-3, but refining strips much of the whole-food value and they are calorie-dense fat.
• Water (safe) — Used as a basic ingredient in bread.
• coconut fat (moderate) — Added as a saturated hard fat to give the spread body; drives up the saturated fat content.
• emulsifier: sunflower lecithin (moderate) — Industrial emulsifier that binds oil and water into a smooth spread; a hallmark of processed food.
• Faba bean preparation (safe) — Plant protein used to mimic dairy's mouthfeel and structure.
• Salt (1.3%) (moderate) — Sodium for flavour; modest amount but present in a spread you use daily.
• Natural Flavourings (moderate) — Undisclosed flavor compounds added to make refined spread taste buttery.
• Colour (beta carotene) (safe) — Natural plant pigment used for colour, also a vitamin A precursor.