News Plant-based
Schreijer-Pierik: 'Meat is meat, dairy is dairy'
The term 'meat' may remain in marketing expressions for meat substitute products, the European Parliament decided today (October 23) despite opposition from the European Committee on Agriculture. CDA MEP Annie Schreijer-Pierik is not at all happy with this.
The European Parliament voted today to review the legislation for the common organization of the market in European agricultural and horticultural products and their names. The European Committee on Agriculture recently called for a ban on the use of meat names on vegetarian products. Parliament voted against, much to Schreijer-Pierik's dismay. "This is a defeat for consumers and honest food information. Meat is meat, dairy is dairy."
Descriptive supplement insufficient
The use of an animal dairy name on the packaging has been banned for some time for plant-based dairy substitutes. "The highest EU court ruled in a 2017 judgment that a descriptive addition 'vegetable', 'vegan' or 'non-animal' on a food label is insufficient to avoid confusion among consumers," Schreijer-Pierik said in her response. know about the vote.
According to the MEP, it is a bad signal for consumers and farmers that the European Parliament ignores its own EU legislation on food information and now, as a result of a strong vegetarian lobby, makes an exception for hyper-processed vegetarian products. The CDA member emphasizes that this is not about the method of preparation of the products, but about the name and marketing surrounding the product.
France
The French government has enacted national legislation that prohibits any use of animal dairy and meat terms such as steak, chicken breast, bacon and ham for plant-based imitation products. Despite the voted down European proposal, this legislation will remain in force. Schreijer-Pierik hopes this will have a corrective effect on the internal European food market.
Jorine Cosse
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