October 26, 2020

EU lawmakers reject proposals to ban "veggie burgers" term

European Union lawmakers voted to reject proposals to ban plant-based products from using terms such as burger, sausage, or steak, which were backed by EU farmers, Reuters reported.

EU Farmers said using terms such as burger or sausage for non-meat products could be misleading to customers. Copa Cogeca, the European farmers association said allowing the terms opens a "Pandora's box" of confusing terms.

Medical groups, environmentalists, and companies that produce vegetarian products said the terms were banned, then consumers would be discouraged from changing to a plant-based diet, affecting the EU's environmental and health goals.

However, the European parliament voted for tighter regulations on labeling plant-based dairy substitutes. Terms such as "milk-like" or "cheese-style" for plant-based products that contain no dairy ingredients will be banned.

"Soy milk" and "vegan cheese" were terms already banned by the European Court of Justice three years ago, ruling that non-dairy products cannot use terms such as milk, butter, cheese, or yoghurt.

The regulations on food labelling are part of the 2021-2027 EU farming policy package, and will only be finalised once the EU parliament strikes a compromise with EU member states on the final policy.

-      Reuters