French ‘Veggie Burger’ Labelling Ban Rejected by Country’s Highest Court
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The French government’s proposed labelling ban on plant-based meat products has been cancelled by its top court, echoing a similar decision by its EU counterpart.
Veggie burgers are here to stay – yet again.
A long-running saga in Europe’s food tech industry, the war on plant-based meat labels has taken another turn in favour of vegan producers, as France’s Conseil d’État has rejected two decrees proposing a ban on terms like ‘plant-based bacon’ on, well, plant-based bacon.
In a ruling yesterday, the country’s top court called the decrees “illegal and contrary to European regulation”, noting that EU member states cannot independently regulate food labelling.
The decision comes just over a week after the court held its final hearing on the matter, where its advocate-general – who assists the court and presents opinions on cases with full impartiality and independence – recommended cancelling both decrees.
The advice argued that the decrees are not fit for purpose and that the government should pay legal costs to the plaintiffs, namely the European Vegetarian Association (EVU), the Association Végétarienne de France (AVF), and industry giant Beyond Meat.
By throwing out the attempt to prohibit meat-like phrases on vegan products, the Conseil d’État has delivered a landslide victory for the plant-based industry, and agreed with a similar ruling from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) last year.
A swing of victories for plant-based meat labels

France’s first attempt to ban meaty terms on plant-based products came in 2022, when it issued a decree to prohibit all such descriptors except ‘burger’. The Conseil d’État suspended the decree after complaints from meat-free companies and associations, calling the wording too vague.
The second decree – proposed in September 2023 – was nearly identical, co-signed by then Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne. It aimed to outlaw 21 terms like ‘steak’, ‘ham’ and even ‘grilled’, threatening a non-compliance fine of up to €1,500 for individuals and €7,500 for companies.
This second decree listed a further 120 more phrases – like ‘bacon’, ‘sausage’, and ‘nuggets’ – that companies could use only if the amount of plant protein didn’t exceed a maximum limit ranging from 0.5% to 6%. This, of course, meant that no fully plant-based products could use these terms.
The Conseil d’État suspended this too, following the complaint from the EVU, AVF and Beyond Meat. It referred parts of the case to the ECJ, which also rejected the ban and returned the case to the French court for a final decision.
The EU’s highest court ruled that the only way a member state can implement such a ban is to legally define meat products and descriptive terms first, and even then, such a ban would only apply to products manufactured within that country (creating an unfair environment for local companies). It also said countries can’t adopt national measures that determine minimum inclusion levels of plant proteins for labelling purposes.
It’s not the first time the EU has ruled in favour of plant-based companies on this issue – the parliament voted to reject such a ban in 2021 as well, though choosing to enforce it on non-dairy products.
Lawmakers should stop politicising ‘non-issue’

France is far from the only country targeting vegan product labels. These legislative proposals are common across the world – as recently as last month, the Czech government was floating a similar move.
The major argument behind these proposed bans is that consumers are confused when they see a product labelled ‘veggie burger’ or ‘vegan chicken’. But this has been dispelled by numerous studies, with most consumers knowing the difference between plant- and animal-derived proteins.
Rafael Pinto, senior policy manager at the EVU, argued that these attempts “do nothing but confuse consumers”, hindering the region’s shift to a more sustainable food system. “The data is clear, consumers are not confused by the use of traditional denominations for plant-based products,” he said.
“Policymakers should be focused on promoting better conditions for farmers, citizens and innovation, instead of politicising a non-issue,” he added.
In a positive sign, these efforts are increasingly being thwarted. Italy is reconsidering its ban after pushback from the country’s leading union of food manufacturers. A South African court ruled against upholding a ban last year too. And Turkey’s latest labelling laws allow companies to use such terms on packaging.
Plant-based companies like Tofurky, Miyoko’s Creamery, Planted, Oatly and NotCo have all won legal battles over product labels – and Beyond Meat has now joined them.
This story was updated on January 29 to reflect the French court’s final decision.