Crisps could find themselves covered by the EU’s ‘meaty names’ ban. Or, at least, crisps with ‘meaty’ flavours, such as roast chicken and smoky bacon, may be included.
‘Meaty’ names in crisps’ flavour description may be inadvertently included in scope of the regulation, Olivier Devaux, director for health & sustainability and nutrition at the European Snacks Association, told Politico.
One potential amendment, proposed by Stefan Köhler and three other members of the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) grouping, has been proposed: to exempt flavour descriptors used for non-meat substitute categories.
The amendment states that to “ensure proportionality”, products such as snacks, sauces, seasonings and condiments would be exempt, as these products are “clearly understood as distinct from meat or meat substitutes.”
The ‘meaty’ names ban
Earlier this year, a trilogue (negotiation between three groups) between the European Parliament, Council and Commission agreed to ban 31 ‘meaty’ terms for products that do not contain meat, as part of a series of revisions to the EU’s Common Market Organisation (CMO).
The ban included ‘chicken’, ‘bacon’ and ‘steak’, but left other terms, like ‘burger’ and ‘sausage’, exempt.
Further proposals have been drawn up to extend the ban to include these terms, however, as well as to ban the use of such terms for products that are not made ‘exclusively from meat’, which would put hybrid meat products in scope.
These proposals are yet to be agreed on in the EU.
