A German government minister has called for a ban on names such as “vegetarian schnitzel” and “vegan curry sausage” for meat-substitute foods.
The country’s agriculture minister said he wants to put a stop to “pseudo-meat” foods pretending to be meat dishes.
Christian Schmidt told German newspaper Bild: “I do not want us to pretend that these pseudo-meat dishes are meat dishes.
"These terms are completely misleading and unsettle consumers. I favour them being banned in the interest of clear consumer labelling.”
The German Butchers’ Association has also called for the same ban on the names.
The politician has written to the EU commission to extend the rules about naming milk and cheese products to also apply to meat
Mr Schmidt’s spokesman, Jens Urban, said: "Clarity and truth, transparency for consumers, those are the measures that should apply for the labeling of all products, always and forever."
When asked if the measures would also affect beefsteak tomatoes, Mr Urban said the ministry was not aware of any "consumer confusion" about such products.
"He considers names such as vegan curry sausage and so forth to be misleading to consumers," Nr Urban told reporters.
