The EU Rejects a Proposal Regarding Vegan Food. The Food Names Were Not Found Misleading

The dispute on the names of vegan products has been going on for years. There are more and more vegan products on the markets and at the same time we are still trying to create names to reflect their nature.

In October 2020 a proposal was put forward with view to control the names of vegan dairy products, which were alleged to be misleading. Words like 'alternative', 'substitute', 'replacement', 'style' or 'flavored' were to be disallowed whenever they referred to milk-based products.

It was primarily about plant substitutes, for example 'soy milk' or 'a plant butter substitute'. It was to enable the customers make a more aware choice as some products’ names were accused of being misleading.

However, the proposal was turned down as it was found 'harmless for the atmosphere and the image of the food industry'.

Consequently, plant-based beverages can be referred to as 'milk'. In much the same way we can treat vegan cheeses. This is good news for everyone on a plant-based diet. Thanks to such names, choosing the vegan diet is much easier when you are used to typical ingredients of traditional diet.

Fortunately, vegan alternatives do not harm anyone, although discussions on their qualities still get fierce, especially on the part of traditional cuisine supporters.

So we will still be able to find such vegan substitutes of meat as vegan sausages or vegan mince.