The survey has been carried out in the run-up to the 11th December meeting of the EU’s Agrifish Council where member states are expected to vote on whether to restrict labelling that uses ‘meaty’ names for plant-based foods, despite Europe being the leading plant-based food market globally.
The European Parliament voted in October to restrict the labelling of plant-based foods as ‘sausages’, ‘burgers’ and other meaty names. The proposal was adopted by 355 votes in favour, 247 against and 30 abstentions.
Jasmijn de Boo, Global chief executive of ProVeg International, said: “This latest survey confirms previous research on this issue, namely that there is no confusion around current labelling practices.
“Banning these terms would be a disadvantage for European farmers who want to diversify and feed into the bloc’s booming plant-based food market because of the huge opportunities the sector presents, particularly in pulse, nut, fungi, and legume production.
“And it could be costly for the plant-based food industry as well if it has to start relabelling and rebranding products. We urge EU policymakers meeting on 11th December to vote against any labelling restrictions. Europe’s growing plant-based market needs to be supported, not hampered by restrictive regulation.”