By suspending this decree long demanded by the interprofessional associations of meat and livestock, the administrative jurisdiction follows 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.), presented last Friday a provisional suspension against a government decree of June 29, considering in particular that its entry into force June 1 of the next October did not give them enough time to reorganize their activities.
Meat professionals denounce a “confusion”
The terms sausage, caviar, meatballs or carpaccio would also have been reserved, according to the government, for products made with meat.
The decree caused, according to the complainants, the confusion of consumers and manufacturers, who struggle to determine its scope of application, at the risk of losing market share.
The organization welcomes this “favorable” pardon, but remains “cautious” pending a decision by the highest administrative court on the merits, the association’s lawyer, Guillaume Hannotin, told AFP.
Fragile victory for plant-based products
“The Council of State accepted our allegation based on the impossibility of vegetable foods leaving the lexical field that approaches or moves away from meat”, he greeted.
In addition, according to him, certain names originally have no relation to 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 .
The General Directorate of Competition, Consumption and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF) had questioned the urgency of suspending, considering that the enactment of a law on the matter in 2020 had allowed them, on the contrary, to take their measures before the publication of the regulatory. Decree of June 29.
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 vegetable products – with the exception of the names “yogurt”, “cream” or “cheese” applied to products without milk animal .
With the publication of his decree at the end of June, France had become the only country in the European Union to oppose this decision.
Source: BFM TV
