First modification:
Ham or sausages can no longer be used in vegan foods, which imitate meat products in shape, following a decree that will come into force in France. The measure seeks to provide more transparency to consumers, for good practices in food. The project has precedents in other regions of the world.
A decree, approved by the French government, will come into effect in May, prohibiting the use of terms related to meat in plant products, which imitate foods of animal origin.
Under the grounds that this is a commercial practice, which could mislead consumers by not correctly informing about the nature of the products, the government, with the support of the food industry sector, assured that the terms associated with the meat should be reserved exclusively for products of animal origin.
The decree details a list of terms that companies that produce alternative proteins will not be able to use, such as ham, sirloin, entrecôte, ribs, fillets, schnitzels, sauces and other charcuterie products.
The decree also establishes key definitions such as those of vegetable proteins and food products of animal origin, as well as the meaning of legal denomination. In addition, it informs about the prohibition of using, describing, marketing or promoting transformed products that contain vegetable proteins using names reserved for foods of animal origin.
This measure is similar to what already exists in other regions of the world. In 2018, the state of Missouri, in the United States, approved one like this for vegan products, and Chile did the same in 2023, when the Chamber of Deputies approved a project to modify the health code.
Earlier, in 2017, in Europe there was a similar project but with dairy products, which determined that foods that do not have a dairy base of animal origin cannot use references on their packaging.
With local media.
