Goodbye vegetarian burger? Swiss companies await EU developments

Goodbye vegetarian burger? Swiss companies await EU developments Keystone-SDA

No more vegetarian burgers, sausages and steaks? In the EU, the naming of meat substitute products may soon become stricter, based on a decision taken by the European Parliament this week.

However, the Swiss companies concerned see no need to act at present.

‘It is still too early to comment on the possible operational consequences in the EU or in the Confederation,’ a Nestlé spokeswoman indicated today when questioned by Swiss news agency Keystone-SDA.

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The multinational has a line called Garden Gourmet, alternatives to meat or fish are declared on the front of the packaging as 100% vegetarian, vegan or as vegetable protein. According to the press officer, this approach is clear and transparent.

On the same wavelength is Bell Food Group, which sells Green Mountain products:. The company also observes the EU political process.

“At the moment we see no need to intervene,” echoes Aldi Suisse, which markets My Vay food products. The product names comply with the legal requirements in force in the country, the company emphasised.

Stronger words come from Planted in canton Zurich. Founded in 2019, the company based in Kemptthaland specialising in vegetarian products with names such as Duck Asian Style, Bratwurst or Kebab.

“It would not occur to anyone that a celery schnitzel or a Planted sausage would contain components of animal origin,” notes a communications manager.

According to the company, it is also noteworthy that the discussion on the matter is currently being conducted officially from the point of view of consumer protection, but that consumer protection organisations have clearly spoken out against strict regulation.

‘This clearly demonstrates the pressure exerted by the meat industry to try to influence the situation,” the company argues. For Planted, which is investing heavily in the EU with a new production plant in Memmingen, Germany, the ongoing political discussions are certainly annoying: ‘but we are going ahead, with or without these terms’.

For its part in Switzerland, the Federal Supreme Court in May upheld an appeal against the use of terms such as Planted Chicken for vegan meat substitutes. However, it approved the use of generic terms such as steak, sausage and fillet.

The European Parliament wants to go further. It wants to ban names such as “veggie burger” or “soy cutlet”; but for the proposal to enter into force, the approval of the EU member states is required.

Both consumer associations and large international companies such as Aldi, Lidl and Burger King have spoken out against the European legislature’s draft. For example Foodwatch, a Berlin-based organisation campaigning for the protection of consumer rights in relation to food quality , argued that no one accidentally buys tofu sausages believing they are beef sausages.

Translated from Italian by DeepL/ds

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