Copa Cogeca is urging the EU Commission and member states to bring forward legislation that "clearly defines" legal names for products of animal origin.

The comments follow a ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) overturning a French ban on the use of words such as "steak" or "sausage" and other terms traditionally associated with meat to describe vegetarian products.

The French government published decrees in 2022 and earlier this year specifying the list of names that plant-based companies were not permitted to use to label their products.

Authorities had claimed that the move was to protect transparency of food information and prevent confusion among consumers.

Several vegetarian associations and companies producing vegetarian products had asked the French Council of State to annul the contested decree.

That court referred a number of questions to the Court of Justice relating to the interpretation of that regulation, which was suspended while the ECJ decision was awaited.

The ECJ ruled yesterday (Friday, October 4) that the French attempt to regulate such terms was not compliant with EU law.

The court stated that where no legal name has been adopted, a member state may not prohibit the use of terms traditionally associated with products of animal origin to designate a product containing vegetable proteins

Copa Cogeca, the umbrella body for EU farmers and agri-cooperatives, said that the ECJ ruling "clarifies the path to follow for member states eager to adopt legal names protecting animal-based products".

"The ECJ confirmed that member states can indeed establish legal names that associate a specific term with a particular foodstuff, aiming to protect consumers," it said.

Following this clarification, Copa Cogeca is now calling on the European Commission and EU member states "to swiftly propose legislation that clearly defines legal names for products of animal origin".

"This would help prevent consumer confusion, address potential health concerns, and protect the image and reputation of animal-based foods from usurpation, unfair comparisons, and misuse.

"Just as margarine never claimed to be butter, alternative products should also have their own identities," the group said.

Copa Cogeca added that it will continue advocating for "fair product naming and marketing standards".

"We regret that this debate was not solved during the previous mandate of the commission and firmly believe that plant-based imitation products and animal-origin foods should berecognised as entirely distinct in terms of legal names, composition, and form," it stated.