Where legislation does not specify a particular name for a product, a Member State may not prohibit the use of terms traditionally associated with zoonotic products to designate products containing vegetable protein.

The EU Court of Justice has answered the preliminary questions referred by a French court in a dispute between: Beyond Meat Inc. – a producer of plant-based protein products, the European Vegetarian Union and the French Vegetarian Association, which promote vegetarianism, and the French Minister. At issue was a decree issued by the French government. The applicants sought the annulment of the decree, pointing out that it breaches a number of provisions of Regulation No 1169/2011, in particular by prohibiting the use of designations such as “chop” or “sausage” for processed products containing vegetable protein without adding supplementary information such as ‘vegetable/plant’ or ‘soy’, or even with such information.

The Court pointed out that if a product has a name regulated by the legislation, consumers should be assured that it meets certain criteria. However, if a country has not adopted such a name, it cannot prohibit producers from using any customary or descriptive name for their plant products. However, if the advertising or the way in which such products are sold is misleading to the consumer, national authorities can intervene in such a situation. Indeed, the food business operator is responsible for the information placed on a particular foodstuff, i.e. ensures the accuracy of the information placed on it.

The Court also added that the harmonisation specifically provided for in EU law is an obstacle to a country adopting a national rule that would allow it to set its own limits on plant protein content. They would decide whether names composed of terms derived from the meat and sausage industries could be used to describe, market or promote foodstuffs containing vegetable protein.

For entrepreneurs in the business of plant-based meat substitutes, this means that there is no ban on the use of names associated with meat, unless their use is misleading or rules have been established to regulate that a name can only be used for a particular composition (e.g. in Spain, we find a definition of ‘maturing ham’).

Judgment of the Court in Case C-438/23.