The EU parliament voted on Wednesday to prohibit vegetarian and vegan products from using meat-like names such as vegos sausage and vegoburger. The proposal, backed by the European meat lobby, faces strong criticism from Swedish food industry players and politicians. Compromise negotiations with member states now lie ahead.
On Wednesday, the EU parliament voted 355 to 247 in favor of a proposal to prevent vegetarian products from being called burger, steak, or sausage. The initiative comes from French right-wing MEP Céline Imart, who told AFP before the vote: 'Let's call a spade a spade.' The aim is to ease rules for Europe's farmers through new food labeling regulations.
Swedish reactions are uniformly critical. Sausage maker Petter Bendelin, who runs Gotlands korvfabrik and plant-based charcuterie, calls it 'quite silly': 'It's a bit of hair-splitting over things that aren't really that important.' He highlights more pressing issues like food content and origin, questioning if consumers confuse vegos sausage with meat: 'Not if it says vegos sausage on it.' Bendelin hopes for a defeat like in 2020, when a similar proposal was voted down; otherwise, he must rename his products.
The Swedish meat industry, represented by CEO Magnus Därth of Kött- och charkföretagen, also finds the proposal excessive. 'We don't take that stance. We think that's going too far,' he says, but welcomes reserving specific meat terms like ham, fillet, and chorizo. He views sausage and burger as shapes rather than content: 'You can even buy rice pudding in a sausage casing.'
Communications head Sara Paulsson at Orkla Foods Sweden (Anamma) warns against double regulation, given existing consumer protections. Swedish EU parliamentarians are equally scathing: Heléne Fritzon (S) calls it 'embarrassing,' Emma Wiesner (C) 'utterly stupid,' and Jessica Polfjärd (M) believes Sweden can block it in the Council. The proposal now requires approval from member states in compromise talks.