Is the European Union planning to ban widely-used ‘meaty names’ for plant-based food?

In 2020, the European Union (EU) put forward proposals to ban the use of ‘meaty names’ – such as ‘sausages’, ‘burgers’ and ‘like-chicken’ – on labels for plant based food products. These proposals were quickly dismissed, however it appears that the EU has tried again! Two competing sets of planned restrictions which are currently being discussed in both the European Parliament and the European Commission, would ban companies in all 27 EU member states from using terms such as the ones above on food products, even though these words have been used for decades on plant-based food labels.

Naturally, these proposals have sparked a lot of debate within the industry. On the one hand, he Commission has claimed that these planned restrictions will increase consumer transparency, protect the historical and cultural significance of meat products, and enable clarity for consumers who want the specific ‘nutritional profile’ of meat.

Yet there have been surveys carried out which show that the vast majority of European consumers support the continued use of ‘meaty’ names for plant-based products. it has been argued that using familiar language across food products helps shoppers understand what to expect in terms of the taste and texture of products they put in their baskets and how to cook them, which in turn helps to support the concept of transparency within the food industry.

There is also the interesting debate of what would people use instead? If a vegan sausage can no longer be called a ‘sausage’, what is it? A vegan tube? A log? A…cylinder? When you hear the word sausage or burger you know exactly what to expect, whereas I would think that removing that word and replacing it with some other descriptor would just be very confusing for consumers – and that is the key aspect that the EU seems to be trying to avoid!

Further information is awaited, as the EU parliament was due to vote further on this issue on 7 October, so it will be interesting to see what new arguments are presented on both sides of the debate.

What are your thoughts? Do you think this proposed change could be beneficial, or just a headache? What would you call a sausage if you can’t use the word sausage? Let me know all of your thoughts below as it would be interesting to continue the debate here.

T xxx