Burgers may still be vegan, but steaks are made of meat only: the EU’s half-hearted decision on ‘meat sounding’
Terms most closely associated with meat may not be used for plant-based products, but exceptions are provided for, such as for sausages, nuggets or meatballs
Key points
In the end, a compromise – a ‘Solomonic’ one, so to speak – was reached, which may well end up causing even more confusion and leaving just about everyone dissatisfied. The final go-ahead came on 16 June with the approval – 560 votes in favour, 75 against and 25 abstentions – by MEPs of the regulation amending the EU rules on the common organisation of agricultural markets. Alongside measures aimed at protecting prices through collective bargaining, there has also been a ban on the use of the term ‘meat’ on vegan or synthetic products.
We are talking about what is known as “meat sounding”, that is, the possibility of using names associated with the animal world for products made from plant-based ingredients. The so-called “EU Trilogue” (a body liaising between the Commission, the Council and the Parliament, ed.) had already agreed in March on a list of 31 terms that may no longer be used for
These include terms associated with animals, such as ‘chicken’, ‘beef’ or ‘pork’, as well as names of specific cuts of meat such as ‘breast’ and ‘bacon’; the terms “steak” and “liver” were also included in the list of restrictions during the negotiations. So what does the compromise entail? It means that commonly used terms such as “burger”, “sausage” and “nuggets” will remain permitted even for plant-based products.
Products of this kind, with names such as “soya burgers”, have in fact been on the market for years, but in the wake of the alarm caused by the possible (and, at least for now, still hypothetical) arrival of artificial meat (or ‘synthetic’, if you prefer) in our supermarkets, a debate has opened up (primarily a legislative one, to be honest, given that consumers seem to are well aware of how to distinguish beef or pork from soya and peas, regardless of what is written on the packaging... and, after all, you can’t label soya burgers as beef burgers, and vice versa).
What do the new rules entail
The fact is that, in order to establish that hamburgers can only be called such if they result from the slaughter of an animal, several countries – and subsequently the European Union – have attempted to introduce legislation, though there have been a number of changes of direction in the complex process of European governance (which, incidentally, has not yet reached its conclusion). In the autumn of last year, the approach seemed ‘prohibitionist’: no more ‘fake’ nuggets and sausages stuffed with pulses. Instead, after just a few months, here is the compromise: ‘meat-sounding’ terms will indeed be banned, but not for all terms, only those most closely associated with meat, such as ‘fillet’ or ‘liver’. So, vegan burgers and nuggets are fine, but not ‘bamboo-seed-crusted thigh’ or tofu ‘steak’ or ‘ribs’.
