France cannot prohibit the use of common names of food items of animal origin to market vegetable protein counterparts, according to the Conseil d’Etat (The French Council of State).
Conseil d’Etat is the highest court in France for issues and cases involving public administration.
It is a government body that rules on disputes between citizens and the administration, and gives legal opinions to the government and parliament on their bills and regulations.
The body has annulled two decrees prohibiting the use of terms associated with butchery, delicatessen and fishmongering, such as 'steak' or 'sausage', for naming products containing vegetable proteins.
In 2020, the French parliament banned the use of terms traditionally designated for foods of animal origin to market products containing plant proteins.
Later in the same year, the European Parliament said that restaurants and shops in the European Union should be allowed to label products as 'veggie burgers' or 'vegan sausages', but called for tighter curbs on labelling of plant-based dairy substitutes.
CJEU Ruling
Conseil d’Etat referred the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) before ruling on the legality of these decrees following requests from businesses and trade groups.
'Last October, the CJEU ruled that European regulations fully addressed the issue at European level and opposed the Member States of the European Union from being able, for their part, to enact national measures that regulate or prohibit the use of common or descriptive names, other than legal names, to describe, market or promote foodstuffs containing plant proteins,' the Conseil d’Etat noted.
Based on the ruling of CJEU, the government body ruled that the 2022 and 2024 decrees are 'illegal and contrary to European regulations'.
