Future Foods Takeaway | Brussels’ beef with plant-based food names

Last summer, the European Commission proposed that certain meat names for products should be reserved for products that are exclusively derived from those meats at all stages of marketing. 

The proposal looks to ban 29 meat-related terms, several of which refer specifically to particular animal products (such as "beef" and "pork") but others that are more broadly associated with butchery (such as "chop" and "bacon"), from being used in relation to products that are not derived from animals.  

The full list of terms in the proposal is beef, veal, pork, poultry, chicken, turkey, duck, goose, lamb, mutton, ovine, goat, drumstick, tenderloin, sirloin, flank, loin, ribs, shoulder, shank, chop, wing, breast, thigh, brisket, ribeye, T-bone, rump and bacon. 

The Commission has framed the change as enhancing consumer transparency and preserving the cultural and historical significance of meat terminology, while defining “meat” as the edible parts of an animal. Currently, EU law permits plant‑based goods to use these terms when labels clearly indicate the product is plant derived but, if the proposal goes through, plant-based alternatives will not be able to use these terms.

In October, the European Parliament adopted its mandate on the proposal. MEPs backed the text and went further to reserve names such as steak, escalope, sausage and burger exclusively for products containing meat. It also introduced a definition of meat as the “edible parts of animals,” while expressly excluding cell cultured products from any right to use these terms.  Whereas the Commission’s draft did not target generic format terms like “burger,” “sausage,” or “steak,” the European Parliament’s position to include these would, if adopted, significantly widen the scope of any eventual ban.

On 10 December last year, talks between the European Parliament and the Council failed as no agreement could be reached. Negotiations are scheduled to continue early this year.

With views diverging across the EU, the outcome of the next negotiation round is uncertain. What do some of the Member States think? 

France

In France, the story has unfolded in the opposite direction. Relying on a 2020 consumer law, the French government adopted two decrees in 2022 and 2024 prohibiting the use of terms related to butchery, charcuterie and fish sectors for products containing plant proteins.

However, these decrees were quickly challenged by industry players and suspended by the French Conseil d’État, which then referred questions to the Court of Justice of the EU for a preliminary ruling.

In October 2024, the CJEU held that EU law prevents Member States from unilaterally restricting the use of such terms, especially since Regulation No 1169/2011 on food information to consumers already adequately protects consumers from being misled by the use of names, other than legal names, consisting of terms from the butchery, charcuterie and fish sectors to describe foods containing vegetable proteins instead of proteins of animal origin. 

As a result, in January 2025, the Conseil d’État, applying that ruling, annulled both decrees as incompatible with EU law. Therefore, for now, plant based foods producers in France can still use “meaty” names so long as their labelling clearly signals that the products are not of animal origin and does not mislead consumers. French operators are thus closely scrutinising discussions at the EU level.

Germany

Under current German law, many meat-related terms (such as “steak”) may be used for plant-based products where this is customary and does not create a misleading impression. In practice, this means such terms may generally only be used for plant based products that are sufficiently similar in sensory characteristics to the referenced animal-derived food and that are clearly qualified (for example, as “vegan”) to indicate their plant-based nature.

Germany’s federal government has not yet taken an official position on the EU proposal, but most German MEPs across the political spectrum oppose a ban on meat-related names for plant-based products. Members from centre-right parties have criticised the plan as “nonsense” and a distraction, while Social Democrat, Green and Liberal politicians argue that terms like “veggie burger” and “tofu sausage” are already commonly understood.

Spain

Spain does not currently have a specific national prohibition preventing the use of meat-related terms (such as beef, pork, chicken, turkey or duck) for plant-based products. The applicable framework is based on EU food information law (Regulation (EU) 1169/2011), which requires that the commercial name of the product is not misleading to consumers. 

However, certain protected terms under Spanish quality standards (for example, those defined in Royal Decree 474/2014 for meat products) may be reserved for products that meet the regulatory composition criteria. Against this backdrop, Spain’s position remains cautious pending the outcome of the EU legislative process, which may ultimately introduce further restrictions on the use of such terms for non-meat products.

Italy

Italy has already adopted Law No. 172/2023 that, in addition to providing for a ban on the cultivated meat, bans the so-called “meat sounding” names for plant‑based products. A decree of the Minister of Agriculture was expected to introduce a list of prohibited food names that could mislead the consumer; however, to date, the implementing provisions of the law have not been yet adopted due to conflicts with EU law and case law (including the October 2024 ruling of the CJEU that struck down a similar French measure). Therefore, if the EU ultimately adopts the proposed ban, the Ministry of Agriculture will likely issue  the implementing decree to make the meat sounding ban immediately effective.

Belgium

Belgium brought its domestic "veggie war" to a close in early 2024 when the Minister of Economy announced that the country would not introduce guidelines restricting the naming and labelling of vegetarian and vegan products. The decision drew a line under a contentious debate that had run since 2020, when some sector stakeholders pleaded for "clear guidelines" for plant-based product labels and marketing.

The Belgian government's stance permits plant-based products to carry "meaty" descriptors  such as "vegan burger" or "vegan steak", effectively rejecting the restrictions championed by agricultural and meat industry stakeholders, as it considers that there is no or a low risk of consumer confusion when pertaining to these practices.

What could this mean for the UK?

The UK has not announced plans to introduce an equivalent naming ban. The forthcoming UK–EU sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement envisages elements of dynamic regulatory alignment that could extend to labelling. According to recent reporting, the Food Standards Agency has told stakeholders that, if the EU ban is adopted, UK businesses may be required to follow the EU rules under the SPS agreement. The position will remain unclear pending the outcome of the EU negotiations.

Osborne Clarke comment

Businesses marketing meat alternatives in the EU should keep a watch of how things develop in 2026  to see whether a ban is introduced and, if so, what terms are included. 

If adopted, for businesses selling plant-based food products, this could require extensive renaming and relabelling. A transition period is likely but it would still entail material cost and operational change for EU products. Depending on the scope of the SPS agreement, UK products could also potentially be affected.