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MEPs have put forward a proposal that would prevent vegan or vegetarian products using names usually reserved for meat.
As part of a vote on the first batch of CAP reform proposals, MEPs on the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee voted 29 in favour to seven against with one abstention for new rules on common market organisation (CMO).
MEPs voted to define meat and reserve designations such as steak, sausage and burger for meat and products of animal origin.
The proposed legislation states these designations "may not be used to describe, promote or market food products primarily made up of proteins of vegetable origin”.
Misleading
A large majority of MEPs wanted to prohibit certain commercial practices they felt may be misleading for consumers.
Rapporteur for the report, French MEP Eric Andrieu, said meat terms should be kept for real meat and new names found for vegetable products.
The proposal mirrors a similar move in the dairy sector whereby a judgement by the European Court of Justice in June 2017 prevented drinks of vegetable origin from being referred to as “milk”.
The proposals on meat products will next be debated by the full European Parliament.
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