Preliminary ruling from the European Court of Justice on plant-based “steak” and “sausage”

Legal actions were presented to a French court on the grounds of a French decree that banned the use of certain animal-related designations for plant-based products, such as “steak” or “sausage”. The applicants argued that the decree was contrary to EU Regulation No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers (the “Regulation”). The French court requested a preliminary ruling from the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which ruling now has been made in case C-438/23. In this article we will briefly summarise the findings of the ECJ.

The French decree
In France, a national decree limiting the use of meaty names for meat replacements has been implemented. According to the decree, the name used to designate foods of animal origin such as “steak” or “sausage”, cannot be used to describe, market or promote foods containing vegetable proteins. The ban even applies when the products contained additional clarifying indications such as “vegetable” or “soya”. The preliminary ruling interprets the provisions of the Regulation, with a particular focus on provisions in the Regulation that address the fair practices regarding food labelling, the replacement of ingredients and the obligations of food industry operators to provide accurate and non-misleading information to consumers.

Regulation No 1169/2011
Specifically, Article 7 of the Regulation states that food information shall not mislead consumers, particularly with regard to the nature, identity, properties, composition, quantity, durability, origin or method of manufacture of the food. Article 17 specifies that the name of the food must be its legal name, customary name, or a descriptive name if no legal or customary name exists. The Regulation further states that in the case of foods in which an element or ingredient that consumers expect to be normally used or naturally present has been replaced by a different element or ingredient, the labelling shall bear — in addition to the list of ingredients — a clear indication of the element or the ingredient that has been used for the partial or whole substitution, in close proximity to the name of the product.

Legal names can be established, but the French decree does not state legal names
The ECJ acknowledges that the Regulation allows scope for Member States to adopt legal names where such do not exist at EU level. Where legal names are established they cannot be used for products that do not comply with the specifications for that name, for example “meat”, which is defined as “the edible parts of animals”. Food not containing such parts cannot use the name “meat”, even if the name is combined with, for example, the indication “vegetarian”. However, the French decree bans the use of certain meaty names, which are not legally defined by the decree, for plant-based foods. This is not the same as the adoption of a legal name. As a result, the decree was not considered to govern the statutory designation of the foods in question, but instead the customary or descriptive designation of the foods. This is harmonised by the Regulation and Member States cannot independently regulate or prohibit the use of such designations for plant-based products if they comply with EU rules.

As there are no legal names for plant-based foods at EU level or in France, plant-based foods must be indicated by their customary name or descriptive name. Where a customary name is the accepted name of the food that does not need further explanation, a descriptive name must explain the main characteristics of the food. Under the Regulation there is an obligation to indicate the name of a product by use of customary or descriptive names where no legal name exists. In such a case, customary and descriptive names must comply with the Regulation and therefore not be misleading within the meaning of Article 7 of the Regulation.

Conclusion
Hence, it is up to the competent national authorities to assess whether the specific methods of presentation and marketing of a food product are misleading to the consumer.  

In summary, the ruling invalidated national measures like the French decree that impose additional restrictions on the use of designations for plant-based products, provided that the products comply with existing EU regulations. This ruling is a significant step in clarifying the legal landscape for plant-based food products in the EU, and is beneficial to companies in the vegan food sector. The preliminary ruling underscores the importance of a harmonised approach to food labeling across the EU, ensuring that consumers are adequately protected from misleading information while allowing for the free movement of goods.

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