Vegetarian substitute products are allowed to continue using common names such as veggie burgers or soy schnitzel in the EU for the time being. On Tuesday in Strasbourg, the European Parliament confirmed a compromise from March, according to which the terms burger, schnitzel, sausage and nuggets would not end up on the blacklist. In the future, veggie products will no longer be allowed to say chicken or beef, and terms such as steak, bacon, liver or ribs are also prohibited.
The proposal goes back to French MEP Céline Imart, who said she wanted to protect the interests of French cattle farmers. Consumer organizations and the German federal government spoke out against a ban in the negotiations.
The adopted regulation is part of a reform with which the EU responded to farmers’ protests in several European countries. It was originally intended to strengthen the position of farmers in price negotiations with supermarkets and, among other things, contains requirements for contracts in the dairy industry.
The Council of 27 EU countries still has to approve the changes; they will apply until the end of next year. After that, a reform of the rules of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is necessary anyway. In the course of the new edition, the discussion about burgers and schnitzel is likely to arise again.
