France revokes “meaty” terminology from plant-based labeling

29 Feb 2024 --- Culinary capital France has issued a decree concerning the labeling of food products containing plant-based proteins. Under the new law, meat-like words including “entrecôte,” “ham,” “bacon,” “steak” and “filet” will be prohibited from use in commercialized meat alternatives.

The ban aims to protect French consumers from being misled about the contents of their food. It includes a few exceptions, however, such as in cases when the terms are used in combination with other words to describe the flavor or preparation of the food. 

“This is a hugely disappointing and backward development. Consumers are not confused by the use of meaty names for plant-based foods,” Jasmijn de Boo, global CEO at ProVeg International, tells Food Ingredients First.

“The government should instead be encouraging the consumption of healthy, climate-friendly and animal-friendly food as people across Europe continue to decrease their meat consumption,” she urges.

“France can play its role by actively supporting the continued growth of the plant-based market through a variety of measures such as subsidies, research funding and public procurement contracts for alternative proteins.”

The controversy over using meat-related terms for plant-based products boils over from August 2023, when France escalated the issue to the European Court of Justice, seeking to introduce its own laws on plant-based meat regulation.

“Leading scientific bodies, such as the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), have already made it crystal clear that we must promote the shift to more plant-based diets if we are to have a chance of staying within the internationally agreed 1.5 degree temperature target set in Paris in 2015,” De Boo maintains.

Products manufactured or labeled before the decree’s enforcement can be sold until stocks are depleted or for up to one year post-publication.Plant protein limits
The decree also specifies the maximum amount of plant protein that can be added to certain foods while still using the traditional animal product term on the label. It outlines strict limits of allowed vegetable protein content coming from the condiments and aromatics contained in the product.

Furthermore, the addition of 2% of vegetable proteins — excluding condiments and aromatics — is authorized for products incorporated into a canned dish.

The ban also extends to terms like “poultry,” which must now be clarified to include all species of poultry — turkey, chicken, duck, guinea fowl, quail and pigeon.

Products that are manufactured or labeled before the decree’s enforcement can be marketed until stocks are depleted or for up to one year after publication.

Sweeping prohibitions
Last December, Poland similarly floated a ban on labels like “burger,” “sausage” and “steak” from meatless offerings, driven by national farmer organizations. Much like in France, agricultural stakeholders demand protections to prevent vegan meat products from misleading consumers.

Outside of Europe, South Korea prohibited the use of words like “pork” and “beef” from circulated plant-based products.

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute published a report stressing that the lack of legal definitions for vegan food causes confusion for consumers and businesses alike, potentially costing the lives of people with food allergies.

By Benjamin Ferrer