France prohibits calling products of plant origin ‘ham’ or ‘fillet’ – 02/27/2024 – Market

France published this Tuesday (27) a decree that prohibits the terms “ham”, “fillet” and “entrecôte”, among others, from referring to products of plant origin, reserving them only for products of animal origin.

The meat sector demanded this ban because it considered that names such as “vegetable ham”, “vegan sausage” or “vegetarian bacon” could cause confusion among consumers.

Among the terms whose use is prohibited to designate products with vegetable proteins are also loin, escalope, steak and breast.

Terms “that refer to the names of species or groups of animal species, or to animal morphology or anatomy” are also prohibited in the marketing of plant products.

Some terms can be used for food products “of animal origin that may contain vegetable proteins”, as long as a maximum percentage of vegetable matter is respected.

In the latter, vegetable ingredients are added as a “complement” to foods of plant origin, such as chorizo, sausages or andouille —a traditional sausage—, among others.

The maximum vegetable protein content varies between 0.1% for a liquid whole egg, 5% for a salami and 6% in the case of a “paupiette” (thin fillet of meat with stuffing).

“Products legally manufactured or marketed in another Member State of the European Union or in a third country” remain authorized, states the decree.

At EU level, only plant products are prohibited from being named with terms traditionally used for dairy products, such as “yogurt” or “cheese”.

The government’s new attempt to ban these denominations, following a decree suspended in 2022, will come into force within three months and provides for a transition year for the liquidation of stocks, in addition to fines of up to 15 thousand euros (US$16.2 thousand or R$ 81 thousand).