France’s Government wants to ban the use of ‘meat terminology’ like ‘steak’ or ‘sausage’ from the labels of vegan food products.
The French Agriculture Ministry is leading the push, claiming consumers could be misled or confused by the marketing of some plant-based products.
The changes would apply to products made and sold in France.
Here’s what you need to know.
Background
Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau introduced a draft decree to stop vegan products from using ‘meat-related’ language.
This is not the first time France has seen an attempted crackdown on the language used to market plant-based products.
An earlier attempt made it to the Council of State (the court responsible for advising the Government on draft bills). The Council suspended it in 2022 around concerns it was too vague.
The Agriculture Ministry says the new draft accommodates the court’s concerns.
Proposed changes
The proposal suggests banning 21 meat names commonly used to market 100% plant-based products, including “steak”, “fillet”, “spare ribs”, “ham”, or “butcher”.
Minister Fesneau said the current labelling of vegan foods had created “an issue of transparency”, and that introducing the draft was “essential” for consumer trust.
The draft is now subject to a review by the European Commission – the European Union’s politically independent executive arm.
If approved this month, the changes could come into effect before the end of the year.
Manufacturers of plant-based products would get a three-month window to adapt their labelling.
