The European Commission will create a legal framework for vegetarian and vegan food. Manufacturers who want to label their products as “vegetarian” will have to abide by certain rules in the future.
Germany sets the example
It will take a while before there is a legal definition of vegan and vegetarian food, because the preparations will only start in 2019. There was talk about such a framework in 2011, but nothing has been done in the meantime.
“European consumers of vegan and vegetarian foods as well as their suppliers in production and retail will be able to rely on one set of rules for plant-based food. This will improve the positions of all parties involved in the food chain”, the European Vegetarian Union said. The organization has claomured for a legal framework since 2008. FoodDrinkEurope also backs the urgent need for a clear definition in order to guarantee a consumer’s freedom of choice.
Germany is already a pioneer in Europe, because it already adopted a proposal in 2016 to create create a legal definition for those two terms. There was a hope back that the German proposal would quickly get traction across Europe.
