‘Vegan’ – now a legally recognised term in Europe

Posted on 5 July 2010

On 16 June 2010, the European Parliament made ‘vegan’ a legally protected term. This means that it is now illegal for food labelled “vegan” or “suitable for vegans” to be made using anything from animals.

Article 35 of the European Food Information Act states that “The term ‘vegan’ should not be applied to foods that are, or are made from or with the aid of, animals or animal products (including products from living animals).”

The European Parliament voted to give legal protection to the term ‘vegan’ as part of Amendment No 175 of the new consumer food information regulations. Previously the terms ‘vegan’ and ‘vegetarian’ had no legal definition in Europe. Now consumers can now look forward to reliable and consistent food labelling.

George Rodger, Chairperson of the Vegan Society Council of Trustees (UK) said: “This is a great day for veganism in Europe and indeed the world, as vegans and veganism are now given official recognition. We look forward to the UK government putting it into practice.”

The new food consumer rules are likely to come into effect around 2014.

Note: also defined was “The term ‘vegetarian’ should not be applied to foods that are, or are made from or with the aid of products derived from animals that have died, have been slaughtered, or animals that die as a result of being eaten.”

We wonder if we can expect similar legislation and consumer protection forthcoming from South African lawmakers?

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