Over a dozen prominent food manufacturers have issued a forceful appeal to the European Commission, urging it to abandon a proposed ban on using traditional terms such as "sausage" and "burger" for plant-based and vegetarian products. Companies including Linda McCarney Foods, Quorn, and THIS have united in a joint letter, calling on EU commissioners to "let common sense prevail" ahead of a crucial debate on the measure.
Unnecessary Confusion and Regulatory Burden
The manufacturers argue that the proposed ban would create "unnecessary confusion" for consumers without providing any tangible benefits. They contend that customers are perfectly capable of understanding what they are purchasing through clear ingredient lists and existing labelling practices. A ban would force products like bean burgers to be relabelled as "patties" or "discs," while traditional items such as the Welsh Glamorgan sausage, made from cheese and leeks, might need to be renamed Glamorgan "tubes."
Industry Leaders Voice Strong Opposition
Paul Garner, the commerce area leader at Suma Wholefoods, a long-standing producer of plant-based foods since 1977, stated emphatically: "Consumers are smart! They don't need labels policing words like 'burger' or 'sausage' to know what they're buying. Clear ingredient lists and a bit of common sense are enough. Banning familiar terms just makes life harder for shoppers and smaller producers, without helping anyone."
David Flochel, the chief executive of Quorn Foods, expressed frustration that energy is being spent "revisiting an issue that consumers settled long ago." He noted: "In 40 years, not once has a customer told us they bought a Quorn product believing it to be meat. While we fully support rules that prevent misleading claims, we are concerned that these new restrictions risk creating unnecessary confusion and regulatory burden for both manufacturers and consumers."
Organised Opposition and Political Context
The joint letter was organised by the Vegetarian Society and sent to representatives of the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council of the European Union. This follows a similar plea from musician Paul McCartney and eight MPs in December, where McCartney argued that labelling vegetarian sausages as such "should be enough for sensible people to understand what they are eating."
Major supermarkets Aldi and Lidl, both headquartered in Germany—Europe's largest market for plant-based products—have also voiced their opposition to the proposed ban. Jenny Canham, the public affairs lead of the Vegetarian Society, emphasised: "As this ongoing debate draws to a close, businesses are the latest group to send a clear message that banning familiar veggie terms is completely unnecessary. EU decision-makers must recognise the global risks of pursuing a terminology ban to address a problem that simply does not exist."
Legislative Background and Upcoming Vote
The measures were initially proposed by French centre-right MEP Céline Imart and were agreed upon in a vote in the European Parliament last year. Widely seen as a victory for the meat industry amid a backlash against the growing popularity of meat-free foods, the initial vote in October passed with 355 in favour to 247 against.
However, for the proposals to become law, they must be approved by a majority of the EU's 27 member states in a vote scheduled for 5 March. The food companies are making a final push to sway decision-makers, arguing that the focus should instead be on policies that support innovation and accelerate the shift toward environmentally sustainable diets.
Flochel concluded: "We call on the European Commission, parliament and council to let common sense prevail and to focus on policies that support innovation and accelerate the shift toward environmentally sustainable diets." The outcome of the March vote will determine whether familiar terms for plant-based products remain on European shelves or are replaced by unfamiliar alternatives.
