News

Debate over ban on ‘meaty’ names for plant-based products reaches stalemate

The debate over a ban on plant-based products using “meaty” terms has reached a stalemate, leaving manufacturers in limbo and still facing overhauls to their marketing and packaging.

In December, a decision on the new restrictions was postponed until the New Year after the European Commission, European Parliament, and European Council failed to reach a consensus on this particular (and peculiar) food fight.

Indeed, campaigners and policymakers, as well as many food companies and hundreds of thousands of consumers, feel this is all a bit of a waste of time, energy – and packaging.

“We sometimes have a year’s worth of packaging stock; having to throw all that away would be both financially and environmentally absurd,” said Nicolas Schweitzer, CEO of French plant-based pork producer La Vie.

Manufacturers have pointed to the financial implications, not only in terms of changing packaging but also in rebranding and potentially losing customers as a result.

“Our brand is built on bridging the gap between traditional meat culture and plant-based innovation,” explained Rutger Rozendaal, CEO of The Vegetarian Butcher.

“Consumers choose The Vegetarian Butcher precisely because our products resemble animal meat in taste, texture, shape, and preparation. This proposed legislation would limit our ability to communicate that value clearly.”

Plant-based market momentum

Europe currently leads the global plant-based meat market. Euromonitor valued Europe’s plant-based retail market at €9 billion in 2024, and “meat” had a 37% share of that.

The sector supports farmers, especially pulse growers, and drives rural diversification, as well as contributing to soil health and sustainability, noted the NGO Proveg International.

The so-called “veggie burger” ban would prohibit plant-based producers from using words like “steak”, “bacon”, or “eggs” on their alternatives. In all, 29 words are on the proposed list of terms restricted to products that come from or contain livestock.

Reports suggested that more were offered at the last minute during the crunch talks in mid-December. It was all “very messy”, one official told Politico.

The potential of Europe-wide restrictions was sparked by a review of the Common Market Organisation (CMO) regulation in July. The conservative European People's Party (EPP) tabled the ban proposal in the EU Parliament, led by French MEP Céline Imart.

According to the proposal, terms such as “sausage”, “schnitzel”, or “burger” should only be allowed for meat products – because consumers are allegedly confused.

The European Parliament voted in favour of the ban at the beginning of October. However, the trilogue negotiations between Parliament, the Commission, and member states ended in the recent stalemate.

Those opposed to the ban have long considered consumer confusion a false pretext.

They point to consumer surveys carried out in various countries, including Germany and most recently the Netherlands, where a poll of more than 20,000 people carried out by the independent research organisation Radar found that 96% of Dutch people are not confused by terms such as “veggie sausage”.

"An EU-wide ban on ‘tofu sausages’ or ‘veggie burgers’ is not only absurd, but also illegal,” said Suzy Sumner from Foodwatch.

A legal opinion commissioned by the consumer organisation in December concluded that banning terms like “sausage” or “burger” for plant-based products is not compatible with EU food law.

The legal opinion is based on the EU Food Information Regulation and a ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) from October 2024. In that ruling, the ECJ clarified that while states can specify designations for certain foods, they cannot simply ban product names without first defining which designations apply instead.

As Ingredients Network reported at the time, on the basis that European legislation already provides consumers with sufficient protection, the judgement erred on the side of avoiding restrictions on plant-based producers and brands.

The European Parliament's proposal on meat names fails to provide a clear and consistent definition of terms such as “sausage” or “schnitzel”, said Foodwatch.

The case of milk is different: the EU has clearly defined that only cow's milk may be labelled as such. Plant-based products must be called “oat drink”, for example.

Farmers are the losers here

The CMO regulation review was an answer to the farmer protests of 2023/24 across Europe and, as such, “the real goal of this file is strengthening the farmers to negotiate better contracts”, Dutch MEP Anna Strolenberg told the Green Queen website.

Strolenberg has been outspoken in her criticism of the ban and how it is holding up the review. More than 600 companies and organisations have signed a letter in opposition to the proposals, while multiple petitions have collected nearly 340,000 signatures from citizens who do not want it either.

This is hurting innovators active in the food scene, said Strolenberg.

“They don’t know if the name of their successful product will still be possible tomorrow. And consumers feel ridiculed,” she said.