European Parliament withdraws 171 European Commission amendments banning the use of terms related to dairy products

European Parliament withdraws 171 European Commission amendments banning the use of terms related to dairy products

The European Parliament withdrew Amendment 171 in May 2021. Passed by the European Commission at the end of 2020, it effectively banned dairy-related language such as "butter" and "cream" for plant-based substitutes.

The vote overturned a rule adopted in 2017 that banned plant-based manufacturers from using terms such as “milk”, “butter”, “cheese” and “yogurt”.

The withdrawal of Amendment 171 took place on the eve of the EU “super-trialogue”, where the EU institutions will discuss the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). It is not clear why the Amendment was withdrawn, but it is likely due to pressure from consumers, alternative dairy food companies, associations and opponents such as WWF, Greenpeace, the European Consumer Organization and even environmental activist Greta Thunberg.

Commenting on the withdrawal of the mentioned amendment, the Australian government posted comments on its website for food exporters of their country.

The comment indicated that Australian plant-based food exporters can now sell their dairy alternatives to the EU in order to gain market share in this fast-growing food category.

Exporters can use:

Similar packaging formats: plant-based MILK carton or plant-based margarine block Visual cues that may mimic or evoke dairy, such as the image of milk on a plant-based milk package Science-based claims comparing plant-based products to their dairy counterparts: e.g. “half the carbon emissions of butter” Posting information about dairy-related allergens: e.g. “dairy-free” Use of dairy-related descriptive language: e.g. including “creamy”, “ buttery", "use as a creamer for cooking" or "vegan alternative to yogurt"

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