ECJ judge said France could technically introduce a ban under certain, cumbersome conditions, but that current EU law is already enough to protect consumers
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has today handed down a judgement on whether France – and in turn, other EU member states – is allowed to ban “meaty” names like “steak” and “sausage” for plant-based foods.
The ECJ judge said that the “harmonisation expressly provided for under EU law” does not allow a Member State to adopt a national measure which determines levels of vegetable proteins below which the use of names, other than legal names, consisting of terms derived from the butchery and charcuterie sectors remains authorised.
The ECJ judge ruled that an EU member state, like France, could only prohibit the use of terms traditionally linked to animal products for plant-based foods if the country has officially established a specific legal name for such products. The Court states that EU member states would have to legally define meat terms, including descriptive terms such as sausage or burger. This would create huge confusion for consumers and the single market because defining these terms depends on cultural and linguistic references. If no such legal name exists, a general ban on using these terms for plant-based products is not allowed.
The court also said that EU law already provides enough rules to protect consumers, so additional national rules on how much vegetable protein can be in a product before it can be called by certain names are not permitted. However, if a food label or promotion is misleading, national authorities can take action to protect consumers.
France’s highest court, the Conseil D’Etat, requested clarity from the ECJ on the legality of the French ban, implemented in a Decree that was suspended earlier this year.
The ECJ Advocate General (AG), Tamara Capeta, delivered her opinion on the matter at the beginning of last month, but it was far from clear.
France then went full throttle into the Paris Olympics, where much of the food served was intentionally plant-based, to bring down the carbon emissions of the event. With the dust now settling on the Olympics, the issue re-emerged about whether France has the authority to restrict labelling or whether it must back down.
“We welcome the clarity given by the European Court of Justice in this judgement,” Jasmijn de Boo, Global CEO of ProVeg International, said.
“We now hope that the French court will take to heart what has been said about the disruption that a ban on “meaty” names for plant-based food will cause and dismiss the restriction accordingly,” de Boo said.
“We also know from supermarkets that consumers are not misled by meaty names for plant-based foods because supermarkets do not receive complaints about this. The impetus for passing the Decree in France was clearly driven by the commercial concerns of the meat industry,” de Boo added.
The case against the French Decree was brought by four organisations supporting plant-based food: the European Vegetarian Union, the Vegetarian Association of France, Proteines France and Beyond Meat.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
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About ProVeg International
Our vision is a world where everyone chooses delicious and healthy food that is good for all humans, animals, and our planet. ProVeg International is a food awareness organisation with the mission to replace 50% of animal products globally with plant-based and cultivated foods by 2040.