EU rejects ban on vegan products adopting meat terms

MEPs voted on amendments which sought to prohibit the use of 'meaty' terminology in meat-free branding

MEPs have rejected a proposal to reserve meat-related names solely for products containing meat.

Nothing will change for plant-based products and the names they currently use when being sold, such as ‘veggie burger’ and ‘veggie sausage’.

MEPs voted on two proposals, known as amendments 165 and 171, last week.

Amendment 165, which was rejected, sought to restrict plant-based products from using such terms.

If passed this would have forced veggie burgers to rename as ‘veggie discs’ and veggie sausages as ‘veggie tubes’.

However, MEPs voted to pass amendment 171 which extends existing restrictions on dairy-related terms.

Terms such as ‘almond milk’ and ‘vegan cheese’ are already banned on EU products, but 171 now restricts dairy alternatives from using descriptive terms such as ‘yoghurt style’ and ‘cheese alternative’.

Proponents of both amendments 165 and 171 say they were intended to avoid consumer confusion.

Europe’s largest farmers’ association, Copa-Cogeca, supported both amendments.