Foodtech experts grill EU’s ‘pointless’ ban on labels like 'vegan bacon' ahead of landmark vote
7 okt. 2025
17:26
Between debates on the war in Gaza and Russian drone strikes, EU officials in Brussels found time yesterday to tackle another pressing issue – whether “vegan bacon” should be allowed to be called bacon at all.
The proposal would outlaw 29 such 'meaty' words from plant-based labels, and today politicians will cast their votes.
“We should be worried,” Ramkumar Nair, founder of Swedish hybrid meat startup SMAQO, tells Impact Loop.
The proposal would outlaw 29 such 'meaty' words from plant-based labels, and today politicians will cast their votes.
“We should be worried,” Ramkumar Nair, founder of Swedish hybrid meat startup SMAQO, tells Impact Loop.
The EU’s biggest push yet to censor words like "burger", "bacon", and "beef" has landed on the Brussels voting table. Lawmakers will decide today whether plant-based brands can keep using the language of meat.
If the ban goes ahead, plant-based food companies would be barred from using at least 29 of these 'meaty' words, even when it’s clearly stated that the product is vegan or vegetarian.