The European Parliament has resoundingly voted to ban ‘meaty’ names for plant-based products.
The ban would prevent manufacturers using terms commonly associated with meat to describe plant-based and meat alternative products.
The legislation singles out seven such terms: egg yolk, egg white, burger, hamburger, sausage, escalope and steak.
Some 355 MEP’s voted in favour of the ban, which was part of a proposal to review regulations around the EU’s Common Market Organisation (CMO), in order to strengthen farmer power. Meanwhile, 247 voted against and 30 abstained.
MEP Céline Imart, who brought the proposal forward, said that steaks, sausages and escalopes are products “from our livestock farms, period”, reports Euractiv.
A ban has been loudly criticised by some as redundant.
“Europe is the biggest consumer market globally for plant-based meat alternatives, a market from which EU farmers will benefit hugely as it creates higher-value markets for pulses, soy, wheat, fungi, nuts and vegetables – many of which are already grown in Europe,” said Jasmijn de Boo, global CEO of advocacy organisation ProVeg International.
De Boo also points to existing legislation that already prevents consumer confusion.
However, there is still hope for de Boo and others against such a ban as the vote is only the beginning of interinstitutional talks between the Parliament, the Council and the Commission.
A more moderate ban was proposed by the Commission in July. This would have banned some names, but left others, such as “burger” and “steak”, untouched.
