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“Veggie Burger” and “Tofu Schnitzel” may still be called that
| Reading time: 4 minutes
Above all, agricultural associations had massively publicized the ban on meat names for substitute products.
Those: AP / Francisco Seco
They look like meat, but they are vegetarian: “veggie burgers” and the like are becoming more and more popular. Y: They can still be called after the animal variants, decided the EU Parliament. For other products, however, the rules could be tightened.
meIt was the vegetarian sausage: according to the will of the European Parliament, plant-based meat substitutes should continue to be allowed to use names like “steak”, “hamburger” or other animal names. The EU Parliament rejected a corresponding bill on Friday. A compromise project, which proposed clearer labeling of substitute products with the note “without meat”, also failed.
The vote on the legislative proposal was part of a report on the Common Agricultural Reform (CAP) of the European Union, which Parliament is voting this week. With their vote, MEPs decide the position of the EU Parliament, which is then used in negotiations with the EU Council and Commission. The Council and the Commission have not yet tabled any proposals in this regard.
Although the vegetable skin of the tofu sausage is not affected, according to the decision of the EU Parliament there should be changes in other products: the bill for stricter standards for alternatives to milk received a majority of 386 to 290 votes. Names like “almond milk” are already banned in the EU.
“We consider the whole debate to be completely superfluous”
In 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Communities ruled that milk can only be used to describe products that are obtained from the “normal discharge from the udder” of animals. The same applies to the designation of dairy products as “cheese” or “butter”. The bill now stipulates that descriptive expressions such as “à la”, “type” or “imitation” should not be allowed.
Marco Contiero, EU Director of Agricultural Policy at the environmental organization Greenpeace, called the decision in favor of stricter rules for milk substitutes “shameful”. The European Consumers Association (BEUC) joined in the criticism. The hope now lies in the fact that the legislative proposal cannot prevail in negotiations with the EU Council, said BEUC food expert Camille Perrin. The association praised the decision against the ban on meat names for plant products. In doing so, the EU Parliament followed common sense, according to the association.
Some EU parliamentarians had criticized the discussion on the issue before the vote. “We consider the whole debate to be completely superfluous,” Jan-Christoph Oetjen, EU member of the FDP, told the German press agency. “We are convinced that citizens can have their own image.” After all, consumers also know that they can’t drink scrubbing milk, Oetjen says.
Above all, agricultural associations had massively publicized the ban on meat designations for substitute products. The EU Agriculture Association (Copa-Cogeca) said in a tweet that the approval of meat designations for plant alternatives would open Pandora’s box. He spoke of the harm to farmers and consumers who would be confused by the unclear names.
The Committee on Agriculture asks for clarity in terms of names
The German Farmers Association (DBV) asked for “honest” product names for substitute products. DBV General Secretary Bernhard Krüsken described the fact that meat names were chosen for plant alternatives in early October as a “strange form of free use.” “Marketing that first discredits the original and then copies the name is unfair,” Krüsken explained.
It is not about stopping the vegetable market, stressed the president of the European Parliament’s agriculture committee, Norbert Lins (CDU), before the vote. However, he asked for clarity on the names. “We want to protect the designation of ‘pure’ meat products, while the substitute product for meat preparations must carry the ‘vegetarian label’.”
European green politician Martin Häusling saw no risk of confusion for consumers on the refrigerated shelves. He doesn’t think veggie burgers and meat patties can be confused, says Häusling. Rather, he feared that the EU Parliament would risk ending up in a “second cucumber regulation.” The notorious – and now repealed – regulation on the allowed curvature of cucumbers is often cited by critics as an example of over-regulation from Brussels.
In Germany, meat designations are currently possible for plant products. According to the German Food Book Commission, the prerequisite for this is that the products are similar. This can be done by various criteria, such as intended use, consistency, or even mouthfeel.
