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The issue of the trademark “Butter Butter” will also be debated at the Seimas; the issue will be debated by the Committee on Rural Affairs on Wednesday.
According to SFVS, although “Butter Butter” products are not called “butter” and the name of the product is not in conflict with the law, “the information on food labeling is considered not only the name, but all the information in the food packaging or label, words related to the food, data, trademarks, registered trade name, material or figurative symbol, etc. ».
In response to this decision of the SFVS, the Ministry of Economy and Innovation has approached the Service and is presenting its proposals for the improvement of the SFVS business supervision activities.
“The excessive regulatory burden restricts the activities of national companies and reduces the competitiveness of goods and services. The authorities responsible for business supervision must do everything possible to ensure that the requirements imposed on economic operators (including the use of trademarks registered) are motivated, clear, logical, consistent and unambiguous. Therefore, taking into account the following facts, we ask the SFVS to ensure the clarity of the regulatory environment and propose the necessary modifications to the legal acts “, indicates the Ministry’s management of Economy and Innovation.
The Ministry also requests that urgent measures be taken to improve the supervision of the activities of economic entities, to complement the SFVS website with information on the legal requirements applicable to brands of plant-based food products.
The brand “Butter with butter” was created in 2014 by Milda Beržanskaitė and Dovilė Stonė.
Following the SFVS decision, “Butter Buttered” claimed that there was a real threat to the brand.
SFVS: Lithuania is not covered by the exemption in force in some other countries
The report sent to the SFVS states that the decision on the trademark “Butter Butter” was based on a case before the Court of Justice of the European Communities (ECJ), which ruled that the name “milk” could not, in principle, be legally used to describe a purely plant product. “ Milk according to the definition of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing specific provisions for the definition of milk. 1308/2013, is a product of animal origin, meaning “milk” means the normal secretion of the mammary glands secreted only during one or more milkings. <...>. ”Affirms the SFVS report.
“The ECJ case also notes that the name” milk “and names that refer only to dairy products can legitimately be used to describe a purely vegetable product only in exceptional cases, that is, if the product is included in a specific list of exceptions approved by a decision of the EC.
The UK, for example, has added more than 20 products to this list of exceptions, meaning it can legally use the terms ‘nut butters’ for peanut butter, such as ‘peanut butter’, and neighboring Poland for a product (the term ‘apple cheese’ is included. ser jabłeczny ”).
Lithuania has not proposed to include these deadlines (eg peanut butter) in the list of exemptions during the EU accession period, so Lithuania is not covered by the exemption in force in some other countries, but the SFVS and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Lithuania make every effort to The list of exceptions would be supplemented with terms relevant to Lithuania, such as “apple cheese”, “plum cheese”, “poppy milk”, “peanut butter” and “coconut milk,” the report says.
The SFVS highlighted that the conditions established in said Regulation for the commercialization and production of dairy products protect the interests of producers and farmers in the dairy sector, are important to establish competitive conditions in the market and protect consumers from being deceived.
One of the ECJ’s arguments for making this decision was that dairy products are unique in their composition and nutritional value, and the consumer can expect the same nutrients as when consuming regular cottage cheese, for example when buying vegetarian cottage cheese from soy products and tofu . of milk.
The sweets “Paukščių pienas” contain milk and butter, that is, dairy products of animal origin, so the use of the word “Paukščių pienas” does not violate the criteria of EU legislation and the provisions of the ECJ decision .
Therefore, according to the ECJ and the European Dairy Products Association, consumers can be misled as to the true origin of the product. Similarly, butter in Lithuania and other EU countries can only be called the product with a fat content of 82%, all others are spreadable fat blends. With regard to, for example, the sweets that bear the word “Bird’s milk”, other aspects are emphasized: these sweets contain both milk and butter, that is, dairy products of animal origin, so the use of the word ” Bird’s milk “does not violate the criteria of EU law and the ECJ ruling. provisions.
It is important to mention that the ECJ ruling in question only refers to dairy products and, therefore, does not apply to the names of meat or fish products. More details are provided in the attached message.
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