A new proposal from the European Commission aims to prevent plant-based products from using 29 “meaty” terms, including “beef”, “pork”, and “chicken”.
It is claimed that introducing these restrictions will enhance transparency regarding the composition and nutritional content of food. However, the proposal has already attracted backlash from some plant-based organisations, who cite research showing that the majority of consumers do not disapprove of the use of meat-like terms for plant-based products.
Some have argued that the restrictions have been proposed due to lobbying by the meat industry, which is worried about losing market share to plant-based alternatives.
“The flavor and shape of foods clearly recognisable as plant-based provide important guidance for the curious,” said Felix Hnat, chairman of the Vegan Society Austria. “Why should 29 words be banned now when there hasn’t been a single case of confusion in Austria for 15 years? A clear case of patronage politics and lobbying.”
“Waste of public resources”
Two previous amendments that would have restricted the labelling of plant-based meat — including terms such as “burger” and “sausage” — were rejected by MEPs in 2020. Furthermore, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled last October that no member state could prohibit plant-based alternatives from using terms traditionally associated with animal products, as long as the ingredients are clearly shown on the label.
The new proposal seems at odds with other actions taken by the European Commission, which committed to developing a protein diversification plan earlier this year. The plan includes boosting the domestic production of plant-based proteins.
“We have abundant data from several EU countries showing that consumers are not confused by the use of these terms and are not buying plant-based products by accident,” said Rafael Pinto, Senior Policy Manager at the European Vegetarian Union. “This proposal has nothing to do with consumer protection and transparency. Artificially restricting the use of meat terms would be a waste of public resources and an undue restriction of European entrepreneurship and innovation.”
