The companies appeal to the Council of State to repeal the ban on the expression “plant-based meat”.

They are contesting the decree “Ubusk” And “crafty”. Several companies producing meat substitute products have filed a summary suspension before the Council of State on Friday, March 22, to challenge the ban on terms such as “steak”, “escalope” or “ham” to designate products based on vegetable protein.

An ordinance passed by the Govt on February 26 “Meat compromises the creation of the French sector of plant-based alternatives”.

And “creates a harmful inequality of competition”, according to the companies participating in the summary proceedings. text “Concerns only French products”what “French industrialization completely disadvantaged agriculture French”The summary judgment condemns Guillaume Dubois, co-founder of one of the companies that filed.

The first decree, taken in June 2022, had already been suspended in summary proceedings by the highest French administrative court. The new text provides for a maximum fine of 1,500 euros for a natural person and 7,500 euros for a company that uses the term reserved for animal meat to designate a plant substitute. Within the European Union, the naming of plant products is authorized by terms traditionally reserved for animal meat, except for plant equivalents of products made from animal milk (yogurt, cheese, etc.).