Ban on veggie ‘burgers’: plant-based products may lose meaty names in UK under EU law

Calling plant-based food veggie “burgers” or “sausages” may be banned in the UK under the new trade agreement with the EU, the Guardian understands.

The Labour government secured a new sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement with the EU earlier this year, which allows British businesses to sell products including some burgers and sausages in the EU for the first time since Brexit.

However, the deal ties the UK to some EU laws concerning food labelling, and the EU is set to vote this week on banning the use of “meaty” terms to describe vegetarian food after lobbying from the livestock industry.

The European parliament voted for this ban last month , and this week the European Commission as well as the governments of the 27 member states will decide whether it becomes law. ‘Veggi