Swiss court bars vegan products from using meat names

Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court has ruled that vegan products cannot be labelled “salami”, “ham” or “mortadella”, SRF reported. The court rejected an appeal by Lidl Switzerland and upheld a decision by the Thurgau Administrative Court.

The case concerned three vegan products made by German manufacturer Rügenwalder Mühle and sold by Lidl Switzerland. In autumn 2022, the Thurgau Cantonal Laboratory objected to the product names and ordered the company to amend the packaging.

The court said food law reserves these terms exclusively for meat products. Using them for vegan products violates rules protecting consumers from deception and is therefore unlawful.

Lidl argued that the products’ overall presentation made any deception impossible. The Federal Supreme Court rejected that argument, saying legal provisions still prohibit the use of certain product names for vegan foods.

The court has previously ruled that a vegan meat substitute may not be labelled “Planted Chicken” and that the term “milk” may not be used for a vegan milk alternative. Under Swiss law, milk is defined as a product obtained by milking the udder secretion of animals belonging to the mammal species.