Industrialists in the protein sector are protesting against a government decree published on June 29.
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The Council of State urgently validated on Wednesday July 27 the request of an association against a decree which was to ban on October 1 names such as “steak” or “bacon” for products based on vegetable proteins, according to a decision in summary proceedings consulted by AFP.
By suspending this decree long demanded by the interprofessional meat and livestock associations, the administrative jurisdiction is following the European position, which authorizes the use of terms of animal origin, except for milk-based products.
The organization Protéines France, which defends manufacturers in the vegetable protein sector (Herta, Happyvore, etc.), last Friday filed an interim suspension against a government decree of June 29, considering in particular that its entry into force on June 1 next October did not give them enough time to reorganize their activities.
The decree caused, according to the complainants, the confusion of consumers and manufacturers, who are struggling to determine its scope of application, at the risk of losing market share.
The organization is delighted with this reprieve “auspicious”but remains “cautious” pending a decision from the highest administrative court on the merits, the association’s lawyer, Guillaume Hannotin, told AFP. “The Council of State accepted our plea based on the impossibility for vegetable foodstuffs to leave the lexical field which comes close or far from meat”he welcomed.
The Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF) had challenged the urgency of suspending, considering that the promulgation of a law on the subject in 2020 had, on the contrary, enabled them to take their measures before publication of the implementing decree on 29 June.