France submits new draft decree against plant-based ‘meat’
France has proposed new regulations to prevent plant-based foods made in the country from using meat-related names like "steak" and "spare ribs", Reuters has reported. This is an effort to prevent "misleading claims" by some meat alternatives. France is the first European Union country to attempt such a restriction. A similar measure was suspended by the country's highest administrative court in June of last year due to its vagueness and short timing.
The global demand for environmentally friendly and healthy food has led to a significant increase in the plant-based protein market. However, the industry's use of meat product references has caused frustration among livestock farmers and meat processors in France, the EU's largest agricultural producer.
The new draft decree applies only to products made and sold in France. It prohibits 21 meat-related names, such as "steak", "escalope", "spare ribs", "ham", and "butcher", to describe protein-based products. However, over 120 meat-associated names, like "cooked ham", "poultry", "sausage", or "bacon", will still be authorized if the products do not exceed a specific amount of plant proteins per serving.
Photo by Simply Meat Smoking on Unsplash
