EU meat naming rules become law as plant-based and cultivated brands face 31-term ban

New European Union rules reserving 'meat' and 31 meat-related terms for products of animal origin have entered into force, setting up significant labeling changes for plant-based and cultivated food companies operating across the bloc.

• The EU has reserved 'meat' and 31 terms including steak, bacon, chicken, beef and ribs for products of animal origin.
• The restrictions cover plant-based products as well as foods produced from animal cell or tissue culture, directly affecting cultivated meat naming.
• Food businesses have until August 19, 2029 to adapt product names, packaging, labeling and marketing to the new requirements.

The changes are contained in Regulation (EU) 2026/1739, which was published on July 29 and entered into force on August 18, according to an analysis authored by Amanda Carlota, Pattranit Chantaplaboon and Paolo R Vergano of FratiniVergano.

The regulation amends the EU's Common Market Organisation Regulation by introducing EU-wide definitions for meat and meat products and reserving a series of familiar meat-related terms.

The protected list includes beef, veal, pork, poultry, chicken, turkey, duck, goose, lamb, mutton, ovine, goat, drumstick, tenderloin, sirloin, flank, loin, ribs, shoulder, shank, chop, wing, breast, thigh, brisket, ribeye, T-bone, rump, bacon, steak and liver.

'Meat' itself is defined as 'the edible parts of an animal', while meat products are defined as products derived from meat where additional substances may be used provided they are not intended to replace all or part of a meat constituent.

Crucially for the alternative protein sector, the restrictions do not stop at plant-based foods.

The new rules prohibit the use of "meat" and the reserved terms to designate foods consisting of, isolated from or produced from animal cell or tissue culture, as well as products derived from plants, microorganisms, fungi or algae under the EU's Novel Food Regulation.

That means cultivated products will also be unable to use protected terms such as steak, chicken or beef once the rules become applicable.

The legislation marks a significant change from the previous EU position on meat terminology.

Dairy terms have long been subject to specific protections. In its 2017 TofuTown ruling, the Court of Justice of the European Union confirmed that terms including milk, cream, butter, cheese and yogurt are, in principle, reserved for animal-derived products.

Meat terminology followed a different path because EU legislation had not established equivalent protections for commonly used names.

That distinction became particularly important in October 2024, when the Court of Justice ruled in a case concerning French restrictions that EU member states could not prohibit plant-based manufacturers from using commonly used terms that had not been legally defined.

Regulation 2026/1739 now changes that position by establishing definitions and protected terms at EU level.

The regulation states that meat-related terms can carry cultural and historical significance and says protecting them is intended to improve transparency around food composition and nutritional content.

For alternative protein manufacturers, the practical consequences are likely to extend well beyond labels.

The FratiniVergano authors said companies have extensively used familiar meat terminology to communicate a product's intended use, taste, texture and functional characteristics to consumers. Compliance could therefore require changes to branding, packaging, labeling and wider marketing strategies.

There is, however, a lengthy transition period.

Food business operators have until August 19, 2029 to adapt product names, labeling, packaging and marketing to the requirements.

Products manufactured or imported into the EU before August 18, 2026 that do not comply with the new designation rules may continue to be sold until August 19, 2032, or until stocks are exhausted, whichever occurs first.

The rules also contain provisions allowing the protected terminology to be used in certain combinations for meat products and within the names of some composite foods containing both plant and processed animal-derived ingredients, subject to specified conditions.

The changes effectively replace the potential for differing national approaches with a harmonized framework covering the EU internal market.

For plant-based and cultivated food businesses, that creates greater regulatory consistency across member states, but also starts the clock on a three-year period in which some of the sector's most familiar product names will need to be reconsidered.

Source: Analysis by Amanda Carlota, Pattranit Chantaplaboon and Paolo R Vergano, FratiniVergano.

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