More and more vegetarian and vegan products are conquering the shop shelves and by now it is quite common not to eat more meat every day. The quality of these meat substitutes also improves and sometimes these products are almost indistinguishable from real meat. So it is not surprising that you just buy a vegetarian product instead of 'normal' meat. What are the rules on packaging and labelling?

Naming
The difference between meat and non-meat products is not always clear. The names of these products are often very similar to those of the regular product. Think of cheese schnitzels, meatballs or bacon. How do you know that you are dealing with vegetarian products instead of, for example, pork or beef? Just adding a 'c' to chicken pieces or hacked, for example, is often not enough to make a difference.

Deception?
Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 is quite clear about this. The consumer must not be misled. Misleading can be done either by the images and/or text on the packaging. These may not suggest that it is meat if it is not. In addition, some products are also subject to extra protection. The Commodities Act Decree on Meat, Minced Meat and Meat Products states, for example, that minced meat may only be used for minced meat with a fat content of no more than 25%, insofar as this indication is accompanied by the name of the type of slaughter animal or, in order of decreasing weight, the types of slaughter animals that have been slaughtered for this minced meat. The term vegetarian minced meat is currently tolerated.

What is allowed
The packaging must show that the product is a vegetarian or vegan product. Sometimes the words 'vegetarian' are placed in the same field of vision, and sometimes images are significant. The EU is considering whether there should be an amendment to the law to include, for example, the terms 'milk' and 'schnitzel', so that they can no longer be used for vegetarian products. Think of 'butter', which also has to meet specific criteria.

The Netherlands
For the time being, the Minister still believes that the current legislation (EU 1169/2011) is adequate when it comes to rules on labelling, but will possibly comply with European legislation if it adapts in this area. New guidelines will be communicated via the NVWA. In addition, a national standards committee is being set up to deal with standardization in the field of vegetarian and vegan food and the development of an ISO standard.

Want to know more?

Do you want to know what is allowed, do you have doubts about your name or images on your label? Then our labelling experts can provide you with information. To do so, please contact foodsafetysolutions@ftbnl.eurofins.com