Sausages, ham or steaks cannot be used in the names of products of plant origin.

In France, the government updated the law banning the use of meaty food names for plant-based products that were previously suspended. Consequently, the use of the name describing 21 protein-based products, such as steaks, sausages and ham, in plant-based foods will be prohibited.

In France, the 2020 labeling law was set to prevent the use of names used to designate foods of animal origin on plant foods, but the Council of State suspended the application of the law.

The French Ministry of Agriculture announced yesterday that it had updated the law in line with the objections.

The Ministry stressed that 21 terms should only be used on protein-based foods and that these names will mislead consumers if used on plant-based foods.

According to this law, names such as vegetarian sausage, vegetarian steak and vegetables with ham cannot be used on vegetarian or vegan foods.

The French Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, Marc Fesneau, affirmed that these names mislead consumers and emphasized that the law is a matter of transparency and honesty that responds to the legitimate expectations of consumers and producers.