Meat-flavoured crisps could face rebrand under new EU rules

Crisp manufacturers fear new EU rules could ban vegetarian snacks being described as meat-flavoured.New EU rules have banned terms such as “steak” and “bacon” for vegetarian alternatives to avoid confusing consumers, while still allowing labels like “veggie burgers” and “meat-free sausages”.However crisp manufacturers are now worried that flavours of crisps, such as “flame grilled steak” or “BBQ beef”, might fall foul of the rules. Oliver Devaux, from the European Snacks Association - which represents Ireland’s Tayto and Sweden’s Estrella among others - told Politico that the legislation could impact meaty crisps. He said: “Meaty names in the flavour description might be in scope”, adding that the association wanted clarity on whether the EU rules apply. He is pushing for a specific exemption for flavourings to clear things up. A range of crisps and snacks are displayed in a branch of the Tesco chain of supermarkets (Getty)Under the rule changes, which were announced in May, EU lawmakers agreed to ban the use of 31 meat-related names to describe non-meat products. These included the terms bacon, beef, ribs, chicken and wing, among others. The regulation establishes protection for the term “meat”, which has been defined as “edible parts of animals”. However members of the European Parliament are pushing for more restrictions, and tabled new amendments to the legislation in August. The European People’s Party, an influential centre-right party, do not support the proposals, and do not want terms such as “burger”, “sausage” and “nugget” to be banned from use on veggie products. British crisp producers could end up falling foul of the rules if they sell into Northern Ireland, which still follows many EU rules as part of its ongoing relationship with the Republic of Ireland. Though the new regulation entered into force on 18 August, there will be a three-year transitional period - meaning the ban will only take effect in August 2029. Businesses will need to consider what they name their products before launch to ensure they comply with the ban.