- ComMEATted News in the media -

EuroHealthNet calls EU for action to reduce consumption of ultra-processed foods, 30 January 2025.

Ahead of the European Commission's publication of the EU Vision for the Future of Agriculture and Food, EuroHealthNet is calling for action to reduce the consumption and ubiquitous availability of ultra-processed foods (UPF) to improve health across Europe. According to Samuel Tonello, Senior Research Coordinator at EuroHealthNet, 'We need European action that reduces the availability of ultra-processed foods while simultaneously making minimally processed and healthy food accessible and affordable". EuroHealthNet calls on policymakers to ensure that the upcoming EU Vision for the Future of Agriculture and Food draws on the work started by the Farm to Fork Strategy. This includes, among other issues, mandatory and uniform front-of-pack nutrition labelling across the EU, improving the nutritional profile of products, restricting the marketing and advertising of UPFs, especially to children, etc.

To see EuroHealthNet's latest Policy Précis on UPFs and their impact on health: https://eurohealthnet.eu/publication/regulate-ultra-processed-food-to-save-lives-and-improve-health/ 

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The names ‘soya steaks’, ‘vegetable sausages’, etc. may be used in France, according to the French Council of State's decisions (nos. 465835, 467116, 468384, 492839), 28 January 2025.

France cannot prohibit the use of common names for animal-based foods to market products containing plant-based proteins.

For reference, in 2020, the French Parliament banned the use of terms traditionally used for animal-based foods to market products containing plant-based proteins (e.g., "soy steaks," "vegetable sausages"). The Government specified this ban by a decree on 29 June 2022, followed by another decree on 26 February 2024 (decrees issued pursuant to Article L. 412-10 of the Consumer Code).
The Council of State, which had been challenged by companies and trade associations, referred the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) before ruling on the legality of these decrees. Last October, the CJEU ruled that European regulations fully address the issue at EU level and refused to allow EU Member States to independently adopt national measures that regulate or prohibit the use of common or descriptive names - other than legal names - to describe, market or advertise foods containing plant proteins (C-438/23, Protéines France et a.).

In accordance with this CJEU ruling, the Council of State deems the 2022 and 2024 decrees illegal, as they contradict European regulations by prohibiting the use of common or descriptive names derived from the butchery, charcuterie, and fishmonger sectors to describe, market, or promote food products containing plant-based proteins.

To read the Council of State's decisions (in French): https://www.conseil-etat.fr/actualites/les-denominations-steaks-de-soja-saucisses-vegetales-peuvent-etre-utilisees-en-france


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UV-treated powder of whole Tenebrio molitor larvae (yellow mealworm) added to EU 'novel food' list, 20 January 2025

The European Commission has authorised the marketing of powdered whole larvae of Tenebrio molitor (yellow mealworm) treated with UV radiation, officially classifying it as a "novel food". The authorisation is set out in the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/89 of 20 January 2025. According to the Regulation, “In its scientific opinion, the European Food Safety Authority concluded that the powder of whole Tenebrio molitor larvae treated with UV radiation is safe under the proposed conditions and levels of use” (point 7); "Only the company Nutri’Earth is authorised to place on the market within the Union the novel food referred to in Article 1, for a period of 5 years from 10 February 2025, unless a subsequent applicant obtains an authorisation for that novel food without reference to the scientific data protected pursuant to Article 3 or with the agreement of Nutri’Earth" (article 2).

For more details, see Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/89 of 20 January 2025, authorizing the placing on the market of UV-treated powder of whole Tenebrio molitor larvae (yellow mealworm) as a novel food and amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2470: 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=OJ:L_202500089

To access the EFSA scientific opinion: 
https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2903/j.efsa.2025.9155

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U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, The economics of cellular agriculture (Report No. ERR-342), December 2024.

A report published in December 2024 by the Economic Research Service (ERS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) explores the global economics of the cellular agriculture sector, which includes precision fermentation and the production of lab-grown meat from animal cells. Between 2015 and 2023, cumulative invested capital in cell-cultured meat reached $3.1 billion and $2.1 billion in precision fermentation, with the majority of funding coming from the United States (56% and 75%, respectively). As of 2023, more than 200 companies (primarily startups) had major commercial interest in cellular agriculture. As of 2024, more than 100 patents had been filed in this sector.

According to the report, "lab-raised" was the most commonly suggested phrase for labelling foods containing cultured animal cells. Also multiple market challenges are limiting product commercialization and production at scale: "Life-cycle analyses suggest a wide range of minimum per-unit production costs of cell-cultured products. Economic evidence indicates a range of consumer attitudes about these products. While some consumers have negative perceptions related to naturalness, others view the animal welfare dimensions positively. The extent of the products’ environmental impacts and their effects on consumer demand remain to be seen."

To see the report: https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details?pubid=110622


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Beyond Meat's green cow logo confirmed to be deceptive in relation to meat substitutes by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO, case R 1368/2024-4), 7 December 2024:

On 22 June 2021 Beyond Meat had attempted to register as a European trademark the drawing of a cow with a cape, in white on a green background. On 21 April 2023 Interbev has submitted an application for cancellation of this trademark for all products in classes 29 and 30. The Fourth Board of Appeal of EUIPO definitively rejected Beyond Meat Inc.’s request to register as a European trademark in product class 29 (meat and products of animal origin, processed vegetables) the design of a cow on a green background: " (...), the risk of deception in relation to meat substitute products is accentuated given the fact that these products are likely to have a similar appearance in terms of packaging, shelf placement, colour and appearance of the products."

To see the case:
https://euipo.europa.eu/copla/trademark/data/018497478/download/CLW/APL/2024/EN/20241217_R1368_2024-4.pdf?app=caselaw&casenum=R1368/2024-4&trTypeDoc=Human&sourceLang=fr

To see EUIPO's list of classes with explanatory notes:
https://euipo.europa.eu/ec2/static/html/explanatory-notes-en.html?anchor=niceclass5

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A ground-breaking scientific study reveals the extent of the lobbying orchestrated by the meat industry and its repercussions on European agricultural policy, 4 November 2024

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The legal battle over cell-cultured meat continues, 11 October 2024

The European Commission and several EU member states have opposed the Hungarian Draft act prohibiting the production and placing on the market of laboratory-grown meat. According to documents published on the Commission's TRIS database, the draft act would not comply with the European Novel Food Regulation and would jeopardise the free movement of goods in the internal market.

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Reducing the plant protein deficit of the European Union, 8 October 2024

The European arable crop sector supplied 64 million tonnes of crude protein in 2023-2024. However, this volume does not cover all the EU needs of the food, feed and industrial sectors...
The European Commission has published a wide overview of the plant protein market in the EU, from supply and demand to CAP interventions and national initiatives.

https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/news/reducing-plant-protein-deficit-european-union-2024-10-08_en?prefLang=fr

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Food labelling: Judgment of the EU Court in Case C-438/23 - Protéines France, 4 October 2024
Protéines France and Others: On 4 October 2024, the Court of Luxembourg ruled that a Member State may not prohibit the use of terms traditionally associated with products of animal origin to designate a product containing vegetable proteins.
[CJUE, aff. C-438/23 du 4 octobre 2024, Protéines France e.a.: la Cour de Luxembourg admet ce 4 octobre 2024 qu'un Etat membre ne peut pas interdire l'utilisation de termes traditionnellement associés aux produits d'origine animale pour désigner un produit contenant des protéines végétales.]

(case available in French and in Danish) 
https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2024-10/cp240168fr.pdf ; 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A62023CJ0438

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Publication of the AlimAlternatives Study, September 2024 

Parution de l'Etude AlimAlternatives


An independent study (350 pages) that provides an overview of the evolution of dietary patterns, the growing consumption of plant-based substitutes for animal products, and the outlook for various alternative protein sources. Details of the 10 chapters and membership conditions for the program, which also includes a monthly monitoring service, are available.


More info…

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The UK becomes the first European country to approve lab-grown meat (starting with pet food), 17th July 2024 

More info here: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jul/17/uk-first-european-country-to-approve-cultivated-meat-starting-with-pet-food

and here in French: https://www.courrierinternational.com/article/alimentation-la-viande-cultivee-en-laboratoire-autorisee-au-royaume-uni

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Ban on lab-grown meat products, 14th May 2024 

After Italy, two U.S. states are banning manufacturing, selling, and distributing cultivated meat and poultry products.
Food Safety News, "Little to be found, but the lab-grown meat products are subject to bans" - By Dan Flynn
More info…
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The Council of State, 10th April 2024 

The Council of State, in interim proceedings, suspended on April 10, 2024, the government decree dated February 26, 2024, which prohibited naming products containing vegetable proteins with terms used for meat or charcuterie, such as "steak". It refers the matter to the CJEU through a preliminary ruling to determine whether a Member State can adopt national measures regulating or prohibiting such denominations. 
Link to “Conseil d'État” - Case to be followed...

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Across the Nation, Lawmakers Aim to Ban Lab-Grown Meat, 12th March 2024 

State legislators from Florida to Arizona are seeking to ban meat grown from animal cells in labs
[Restricting the sale of protein cultured from animal cells, developed as a way to raise meat without the climate impacts of livestock, has become a trendy right-wing legislative focus in states from Arizona to Florida.]
Inside Climat News - By Wyatt Myskow, Lee Hedgepeth

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The French government published a new decree, 26th February 2024 

The French government published a new decree on 26th February 2024 banning the naming of plant-based protein products with words referring to meat.
Link to Public Sénat
Link to the French Decree

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20 February 2024 - Publication of a study
On 20 February 2024, the Climate Action Network and the French Society of Nutrition (SFN) published a study calling for a 50% reduction in meat consumption in France, and a switch to better quality, sustainably produced meat.
Link to the report
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1 February 2024 - Press 
French "Prime Minister Gabriel Attal would like to see "clear legislation at European level on the naming of what synthetic meat is", a process that involves producing meat from animal stem cells. What exactly is he talking about? We explain".
Ouest-France - Camille DESCROIX - Published on 1 February 2024
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Mis à jour le 03 février 2025.