On January 28, 2025, the French Conseil d’Etat handed down two rulings that will please vegetarians (and inflame carnivores), putting an end to a controversy surrounding the ban on using the terms boucherie, charcuterie and poissonnerie to designate vegetable food products.
Under article L.412-10 of the French Consumer Code, the names used to designate foodstuffs of animal origin could not be used to describe, market or promote food products containing plant proteins. More precisely, this text referred to two decrees which specified the application of this principle, as well as the vegetable protein content not to be exceeded for these names.
However, these decrees, dated June 29, 2022 and February 26, 2024, were the subject of a petition for annulment launched by several associations, notably the European Vegetarian Union and the Association Végétarienne de France.
In the wake of these challenges, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) was asked to give a preliminary ruling on the legality of the French regulations with regard to the provisions of European Regulation no. 1169/2011 (known as the “INCO Regulation”) on the provision of food information to consumers.
In a ruling handed down on October 4, 2024, the CJEU found that French regulations went beyond what was permitted.
Endorsing the CJEU’s call to order, the Conseil d’Etat consequently confirmed the illegality of the French regulations, and annulled the two decrees.
What are the consequences?
The Conseil d’Etat’s decisions reopen the field of possibilities for liberalizing the labelling of vegetal food products, and should logically lead to a modification of French regulations.