Plant-based products could soon be barred from using terms such as “veggie burger” or “vegan sausage” in the UK, as new EU labelling restrictions are expected to set to apply automatically under the government’s recently negotiated sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement.
The Labour government secured the SPS deal earlier this year to restore smoother access for British meat and dairy products into the EU for the first time since Brexit.
However, the agreement also binds the UK to certain EU food-labelling rules and Brussels is preparing to vote this week on prohibiting “meaty” terminology for vegetarian products following strong lobbying from Europe’s livestock sector.
European parliamentarians backed the ban last month. The final decision now rests with the European Commission and EU member states. Whitehall officials believe that if passed, the ban would immediately take effect in the UK under the terms of the SPS framework, unless a specific exemption is negotiated.
Any carve-out must not dilute EU standards or disadvantage EU goods entering the UK market, conditions that government sources say could prove difficult if Britain sought to diverge.
The Food Standards Agency has already informed stakeholders that UK businesses would be required to comply should the EU adopt the new rules.
The proposal has triggered significant debate across Europe. Aldi, Lidl, Burger King and German sausage maker Rügenwalder Mühle jointly warned that banning well-known terms would hinder rather than help consumer understanding.
Critics argue the measure is driven not by consumer confusion but by pressure from livestock lobbies trying to ring-fence traditional meat categories.
Joel Scott-Halkes of WePlanet said there was “no genuine, citizen-driven demand” for the ban, calling it an attempt by the meat industry to shield itself from shifting dietary habits.
Similar arguments have come from UK innovators.
Riley Jackson, commercial lead at cultivated-meat firm Ivy Farm Technologies, said consumers “know and understand” formats like black bean burgers, adding that the focus should be on supporting farmers through new revenue streams, not “red tape that has nothing to do with safety or consumer awareness”.
But farming interests across the continent have pushed back strongly. French meat organisations and politicians — including the country’s cereals and livestock farmers — insist that terms such as steak, escalope and sausage must remain reserved for animal-based products.
Germany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz has also voiced support, stating: “A sausage is a sausage. Sausage is not vegan.”
The UK government has declined to comment directly on the potential impact of the rule, saying only that it remains focused on delivering an SPS agreement projected to add up to £5.1bn a year to the economy by cutting costs for growers, producers and retailers.
With the EU vote expected this week, UK plant-based manufacturers, retailers and wholesalers are watching closely, amid growing concern that a shake-up in labelling rules could upend product ranges just as the category continues to expand.