The European Parliament approves on 7 October 2025 the ban on the use of terms such as “soya burger” or “tofu sausage”. A turning point for future food labelling. The measure promoted by the EPP now awaits agreement with the member states to definitively enter into force
After the October 7, 2025 you will no longer be able to order one soy steak in the menu plant based of a restaurant, nor fish a veggie burger from the supermarket shelf. The European Parliament scored a carried out in the food labeling rules: with 532 votes in favour, 78 against And 25 abstentionsan amendment of the was approved PPEthe European People’s Party, which prohibits the use of terms related to meat for plant-based products.
Names like “veggie burger”, “tofu sausage” or “vegetable egg” will no longer be able to appear on the shelves of European supermarkets, at least on paper.
The reform of the CMO
The provision is part of a broader reform of the regulation ofCMO, the Common Market Organization that manages trade and production in the agricultural sector in Europe. The change package was born in 2024when i farmers tractors had flocked to the European markets to demand better contractual conditions, and now it has evolved to support agri-food production and the food safety.
A reversal of the trend
The decision of the Strasbourg Parliament marks a change of course compared to ruling of the Court of Justice of 2024when she expressed herself in favor of the so-called meat soundingi.e. the combination of terms related to meat and vegetable products.
The Court had recognized the right of producers to use names traditionally associated with animal products for vegetable ones, provided that the consumer was not misled on the nature of the food. Member States, therefore, could not prohibit their use individually, which is why the intervention of the European Parliament was deemed necessary.
The names reserved for meat
The new position of the EU Parliament is more rigid and restrictiveand prioritizes the protection of traditional names.
The list of definitions reserved exclusively for products of animal origin is long and detailed: words like “steaks”, “scaloppine”, “sausages”, “burgers”, “burgers”, “egg whites” And “egg yolks” may only be used to describe “edible parts of animals”.
The reactions in Europe and Italy
The French MEP from the EPP Céline Imart complaint «the misleading aspect in the use of these denominations“, Why “a hamburger is a hamburger: we have to call things by their name».
A simple clarity, therefore: associating vegetarian or vegan terms with meat can create consumer confusion regarding nutritional characteristics and to composition of foods.
In Italy, alongside the position of Imartthey took sides trade associations such as Coldiretti For protect food tradition faced with the growth of plant-based products.
However, the path is still long: the amendment, approved in Strasbourg, must now pass to the Council of the European Union to become operational.
The measure will come into force only after i negotiations and the ratification by the member statesto then be adapted to national regulations.
It will take a few more months, perhaps, before we see them again Sunday lunches and more traditional New Year’s Eve dinners.
