After all, peanut butter is peanut butter, right? Well, not exactly. Nowadays you can find imitation food products of all kinds, from meat substitutes to vegan cheese, and nut butter is no different.

Parents from one school district near London, Ont., are in a battle over whether their children can eat imitation peanut butter. The Thames Valley District School Board is leading a charge against ...

Modern-day food chemists try to turn delicious but caloric food into a low-cal, imitation equivalent. Case in point: shake-on butter flavorings such as Best O’Butter, Butter Buds and Molly McButter.