It’s a reprieve. The Council of State has validated the request of an association aimed at suspending a decree which should ban from October 1 the names “steak”, “bacon” or other names emanating from meat for products made from vegetable proteins, according to a emergency decision consulted Wednesday by AFP.
In a disavowal for the meat industries, the highest administrative court went in the direction of the association Protéines France, at the origin of the request, according to the decision in summary sent by its lawyer, and which does not does not constitute a decision on the merits.
“Caviar”, “dumplings” and other “carpaccios” prohibited
By suspending this decree long demanded by the interprofessional meat and livestock associations, the administrative jurisdiction is following the European position, which authorizes the use of terms of animal origin, except for milk-based products.
The organization Protéines France, which defends manufacturers in the vegetable protein sector (Herta, Happyvore, etc.), last Friday filed an interim suspension against a government decree of June 29, considering in particular that its entry into force on October 1 next did not leave them enough time to reorganize their activities. The terms sausage, caviar, meatballs or carpaccio would, according to the government, also have been reserved for products made of meat.
A delicate naming exercise
The decree caused, according to the complainants, the confusion of consumers and manufacturers, who are struggling to determine its scope of application, at the risk of losing market share. The organization is delighted with this “auspicious” reprieve, but remains “cautious” pending a decision from the highest administrative court on the merits, said the association’s lawyer, Guillaume Hannotin.
“The Council of State accepted our plea based on the impossibility for vegetable foodstuffs to leave the lexical field which comes close or far from meat”, he welcomed. Moreover, according to him, some names originally had no connection with meat, such as “steak”, which means “slice” in English, or even “carpaccio” from the name of the Italian painter who made red prevail in his paintings, recalls the lawyer.
France alone in the European Union
The Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF) had challenged the urgency of suspending, considering that the promulgation of a law on the subject in 2020 had, on the contrary, enabled them to take their measures before publication of the implementing decree on 29 June.
In October 2020, the European Parliament had rejected by a large majority a text aimed at prohibiting the use of terms of animal origin for plant products – except for the names “yogurt”, “cream” or “cheese” applied to products without animal milk. With the publication of its decree at the end of June, France had become the only country in the European Union to go against this decision.