France outlaws steak, sausage, and bacon terms for plant-based meat

In three months’ time, France will enforce a ban on the use of ‘meaty’ terminology for plant-based products. According to the new decree​, published by the government yesterday, vegan steak, meat-free bacon, and plant-based saucisse are off the menu. Operators that don’t comply could be fined up to €7,500. As to what descriptors they’ll be replaced with, well, plant-based manufacturers will have to get creative…’Vegetable discs’ or ‘veggie tubes’ anyone? The list of terms now off the table to manufacturers of plant-based meat alternatives is extensive. It includes filet, faux filet (rib eye, sirloin), rumsteck (rump steak), entrecôte (rib steak), onglet (back steak), bifteck (beefsteak), flanchet (flank), steak, escalope (cutlet), and jambon (ham). The decree does allow for meat products containing plant protein to be marketed as meat, but only if the plant-based content makes up a specific proportion. For example, in bacon, a plant protein content up of to 0.5% is permitted; in a ...