Ln December 20, the Court of Cassation dismissed the National Interprofessional Livestock and Meat Association (Interbev), which represents the beef industry and accused a manufacturer of plant-based steaks of deception. The Court thus confirmed on the merits that the risk of confusion between imitation meats and meat has not been established.
This is a hard blow for the government, suspended from the opinion of the European Commission on its draft decree aimed at banning designations such as “soy steak” and other meatballs, burgers, sausages or vegetable nuggets. Also reluctant to regulate the misleading commercial names used for meat and dairy products, the government seems more concerned with the economic interests of the meat industry than with consumer information.
In France, the consumer association UFC-What to choose had supported the position of the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) which, in a 2020 surveyconsidered that certain names of plant specialties could “mislead the consumer during their purchase”.
For better informed consumers
In parallel, LThe housing consumption and living environment association (CLCV) had requested a “strengthening of controls” on products of plant origin. However, doubting consumers’ understanding of soy steaks is far from being a consensual position.
In October 2020, the European Parliament ruled in favor of the freedom to use meat-related words to describe foods of plant origin. And the European Consumer Union Bureau, which brings together consumer associations, congratulated the MEPs for their ” common sense “emphasizing that “consumers are in no way confused by a soy steak or chickpea sausage as long as they are clearly labeled as vegetarian or vegan”.
In April 2022, the Rennes Court of Appeal also dismissed for the same reasons the Interprofessional Livestock and Meat Association which was suing a manufacturer of organic plant-based steaks for “unfair competition”, “parasitism” and “deceptive commercial practices”. . A University study published in the United States in 2020, further confirms the clarity of the names for consumers.
For products clearly identified by the public
Indeed, they would not be misled by the use of terms such as “hamburger”, “beef” or “butter” on products mentioning that they are “vegan” or “plant-based”. On the contrary, labeling of plant products, which fails to display the words traditionally associated with products of animal origin, would be much more disorienting to customers who are unaware of their taste and use.
You have 60% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.