Overview

• Meeting in Strasbourg, lawmakers approved a text to reserve labels such as steak, sausage and burger for products that contain meat.
• The proposal defines meat as the edible parts of animals and would restrict those terms on vegetarian and plant-based foods.
• The measure is not yet law, with the text set for committee clarification before talks with the European Commission and the 27 member states.
• Supporters, including sponsor Céline Imart and farm groups, argue the move protects consumers and farmers, while Greens, German retailers and the BEUC consumer group say shoppers are not misled.
• The push follows national efforts like France’s 2024 decree later knocked back by a court ruling, and it revives a debate after a similar EU-level attempt was rejected in 2020.