European Parliament withdraws Amendment 171: For Australian plant-based exporters, EU is hungry for plant-based foods

Australian plant-based food exporters will have more flexibility to market their products in the European Union. This comes after the European Commission withdrew an amendment which prohibited plant-based food companies from using dairy-related wording in their marketing. The European Parliament withdrew Amendment 171 in May 2021. This amendment, passed by the European Commission in late 2020, effectively banned dairy-related wording such as “buttery” and “creamy” for plant-based substitutes. This vote followed on from a 2017 ruling that banned the plant-based industry from using terms like “milk”, “butter”, “cheese” and “yoghurt”. The withdrawal of Amendment 171 took place ahead of the EU´s “super trialogue”, where EU institutions will discuss the Common Agricultural Policy. It is unclear why the Amendment was withdrawn but it is likely linked to pressure from consumers, plant-based food companies and associations, and opponents such as WWF, Greenpeace, the European Consumer ...