The Court of Justice of the European Union is finally called to express itself – at the request of the Paris State Council – on the legitimacy of the 'meat sounding'. That is to say, the reference to names of meats and their preparations – e.g. burgers, frankfurters, roasts, steaks, sausages, etc. – to designate 'plant based foods', vegetarians and vegans.
1) 'Milk sounding,Cheese Sounding' And 'meat sounding'. EU rules
Milk sounding, cheese sounding. The EU Court of Justice – with judgment of 14 June 2017 in case C-422/16 (Verband Sozialer Wettbewerb eV v TofuTown.com GmbH) – clarified the ban on using trade names such as 'vegetable cheese,tofu butter,vegan cream' and the like, to present vegetarian and vegan foods. The regulation on the common organization of agricultural markets (CMO Regulation EU No 1308/13 and subsequent amendments) in fact reserves these names, exclusively, only to products derived from the milking of farm animals. (1)
Meat sounding. The names of meat, meat preparations and meat-based products, on the other hand, are not protected by the aforementioned regulation. The associations representing these sectors have proposed to introduce a ban on mentioning these names in the labeling and advertising of foods of non-animal origin, but the European Parliament has rejected the idea of establishing harmonized rules in this regard. (2) The 'meat sounding' is consequently lawful, provided that it does not mislead consumers about the nature of the products (EU Reg. No 1169/11, art. 7.1.a).
2) 'Meat sounding', the national bans
Some national legislators, trusting in the absence of harmonized rules, have thus entertained the idea of forbidding the evocation of the names of meat and derivatives on food labels and advertisements 'plant based', vegetarians and vegans:
– France was the first country to move in this direction, with decree 2022-947 (3) which never entered into force due to the administrative dispute in question (see paragraph 3 below),
– Italy tries to follow it up, with the draft law C. 1324 which also aims to ban cellular agriculture and is therefore destined for European censorship, as we have seen. (4)
3) Meat sounding, the word to the EU Court of Justice
European Vegetarian Union (EVU) - the confederation that represents 44 vegetarian and vegan citizens' associations in the Old Continent, in 28 countries - together with theAssociation Végétarienne de France (AVF) – presented an appeal to the Council of State in Paris to obtain the annulment of the decree with which France tried to ban the meat sounding.
The Council of state therefore submitted to the EU Court of Justice - the only official interpreter of European law - two questions for a preliminary ruling:
– do the Member States have the right to introduce bans that affect the marketing of goods, through national laws that intervene on matters without harmonized rules?
– if the Member States were actually authorized to introduce such laws, would the French decree in its current form be proportionate to achieving the declared objective of 'transparency' in informing consumers? (5)
4) Veg Expectations veg
'We welcome the decision of the Council of State to ask the European Court of Justice for clarifications on the labeling of foods. This is a crucial moment, not only for France but for the entire EU. It is a litmus test for the rights of consumers who seek to make more responsible and informed choices.
In a context of ecological urgency, and in particular of climate change, the French government is expected to avoid creating obstacles to the transition to more sustainable food systems and not to bow to pressure from farmers' lobbies' (Élodie Vieille Blanchard, Association Végétarienne de France, president). (6)
5) Transparency on the label
'The outcome of this process will have a significant impact on the labeling of plant-based alternatives to meat across the European Union. It is essential to ensure that consumers have accurate and transparent information on the products they buy, especially as the demand for plant-based alternatives continues to grow' (Ronja Berthold, European Vegetarian Union, Policy Officer). (6)
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has recently underlined, in the judgment of 1 December 2022 (LSI – Germany GmbH v Freistaat Bayern. Case C-595/21), that the 'average consumer' is 'normally knowledgeable and reasonably observant and circumspect'. (7) Perfectly capable, that is, of distinguishing aveg burger' from a 'hamburger', without the need for a nanny-state corporate that sanctifies words that have entered the common jargon of the Old Continent for years.
The European Commission, rather:
– in the 12 years since Food Information Regulation (EU) No 1169/11 has not yet exercised the mandate conferred to define the conditions of use of the endorsements 'vegetarian' and 'Vegan' on food labels (8,9,10),
– persists in not updating the lists of foods for traditional use which, notwithstanding the prohibitionsmilk sounding' and surroundings, they can report their names without any 'average consumer' may confuse them. (11) From peanut butter to soy or oat milk, etc.
Dario Dongo and Marta Singed
Footnotes
(1) Dario Dongo. 'Cheese sounding', the EU Court of Justice confirms the ban. DO (Food & Agriculture Requirements). 15.6.17
(2) Dario Dongo. 'Carne vegan', meat sounding. Great show in the European Parliament. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
(3) Décret n° 2022-947 du 29 juin 2022 relatif à l'utilisation de certaines dénominations employées pour désigner des denrées behaviornt des proteinines végétales V. https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000045978360
(4) Dario Dongo. Italy, the Senate approves the law banning cellular agriculture and 'meat sounding'. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
(5) Conseil d'État – 9ème et 10ème chambres réunies 12 juillet 2023 / no. 465835 https://www.dalloz.fr/documentation/Document?id=CE_LIEUVIDE_2023-07-12_465835#_
(6) Le Veggie Burger devant la Cour de Justice de l'Union Européenne. AVF. 31.7.23 https://www.vegetarisme.fr/communiques/le-veggie-burger-devant-la-cour-de-justice-de-lunion-europeenne/
(7) Main field of view, front or back label? The lawyer Dario Dongo answers. DO (Food & Agriculture Requirements).
(8) Dario Dongo. Vegetarian and Vegan. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
(9) Dario Dongo. Vegetarian and vegan, another bluff from Brussels. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
(10) Dario Dongo, Andrea Adelmo Della Penna. ISO 23622: 2021, labeling criteria for Veg, vegetarian and vegan foods. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
(11) Peanut butter? The lawyer Dario Dongo answers. DO (Food & Agriculture Requirements).
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
A professional journalist since January 1995, she has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic studies on food and has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
