A provisional agreement has been reached in the EU on the naming of meat substitutes: the products can still bear the names “vegan burger” or “vegan sausage”, but in the future terms referring to meat such as “steak” or “bacon” cannot be used, writes Infostart.
The ban would apply to both plant-based meat substitutes and products grown in the laboratory (cell-based). The package is currently at the stage of an agreement between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, and formal approval by the Council and Parliament is still required.
According to the report, the agreement also includes a detailed list of names that cannot be used for meat substitutes (for example: meat, beef, pork, chicken, thigh, loin, liver, T-bone steak, bacon). Meanwhile, the debate also revealed political fault lines: some representatives believe that the topic takes the focus away from the problems of the supply chain, while others see it as a symbol of the protection of livestock farmers.
Hungarian outlook: in Hungary, the production and marketing of cell-based “lab-grown meats” is strictly limited according to the framework cited in the article, and domestic food regulations also impose conditions on the meat content and the “imitation” designation; at the same time, a name like “vegan burger” can provide appropriate information to the consumer according to official interpretations.
