Fake Foods Labelling

This product, available in Australia, would be banned from using the word ‘sausage’ in France. Image credit: Webpage http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/food/eat/france-bans-the-use-of-meat-terms-like-burger-and-sausage-on-meatfree-products/news-story/d1b104ec6d38cc5fab520e114056ee42

I read that vegetarians and vegans of France are up in arms over a law change that has seen terms like “meat-free steaks” and “bacon-like rashers” banned.

Some are seeing the diktat as a capitulation to the country’s powerful meat industry. 

But supporters say consumers have too often been hoodwinked by products that appear to be stuffed full of meat but may contain none at all. 

Anyway, French food producers will no longer be able to use any term that is most commonly associated with meat, such as “burgers” or “sausages”, if that product doesn’t contain any meat – even if the description makes this clear. 

The ban on such vocabulary will also apply to dairy alternatives. 

Therefore, Food producers in France will be forced to think of new ways to describe some of their vegetarian and vegan foods when they are banned from using terms such as “vegetarian sausages”, "vegetarian mince" and “vegan bacon”. 

Farmers have been critical of not just vegetable alternatives to meat products, like vegetarian sausages, but also dairy alternatives such as vegan cheese, reported the BBC. 

The measure was put forward by MP Jean-Baptiste Moreau, who based his argument on a judgment last year by the European Court of Justice that soya and tofu products could not be marketed as “milk” or “butter”. 

Moreau, a farmer and member of President Emmanuel Macron’s En Marche! party tweeted: “It is important to fight against false claims: our products must be designated correctly: the terms #cheese or #steak will be reserved for products of animal origin!” 

Refusals to comply with the ban will lead to fines of up to €300,000 (£264,000). 

Whether all this is mere frivolity or not – it is France’s prerogative to decide so. After all, the French have long been highly protective of their language, with the Academie Francaise acting as the ultimate authority.