France’s Council of State (Conseil d’Etat) has this week annulled two decrees prohibiting the use of meat-related names, such as ‘steak’ or ‘sausage,’ for plant-based products produced in the country.

The decrees, brought forward in June 2022 and February 2024, would see food companies penalised for the use of such terms in the naming and labelling of plant-based protein products, commonly developed to provide an alternative to traditional meat proteins. Had the ban gone ahead, businesses would face fines of up to €7,500 if found to be in breach of regulations.

The Council of State suspended the 2024 decree in April last year, expressing ‘serious doubt’ about the legality of the proposed ban and stating that the decree would cause ‘serious and immediate harm’ to manufacturers that are exclusively selling plant-based protein products in the country.

Costs linked to packaging, branding and other marketing strategies would have impacted companies as a result of the ban.

The Council of State consulted the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which ruled in October 2024 that EU law already provides sufficient regulations to protect consumers, and that the additional rules proposed in the decree – determining how much vegetable protein can be in a product before it can be called by certain names – would not be permitted.

In accordance with this ruling, the Council of State finalised its decision on 28 January 2025, stating: “In accordance with this ruling by the CJEU, the Council of State considers the 2022 and 2024 decrees, which prohibited the use of common or descriptive names, consisting of terms from the butchery, delicatessen and fishmongering sectors, to describe, market or promote foods containing plant proteins, to be illegal and contrary to European regulations.”

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