Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court has issued a final ruling that prohibits the use of animal-derived terms such as “chicken” and “pork” on the labels of vegan food products. The decision concludes a multi-year legal dispute involving Zurich-based Planted Foods and federal food safety authorities.
“This decision appears to be driven by politics and emotions”
The ruling states that references to specific animal species on plant-based foods are incompatible with national food labelling law, which requires that product information accurately reflects its contents. Terms traditionally linked to meat from animals are not allowed on vegan items, even when prefaced with qualifiers such as “plant-based” or “vegan.” According to the court, such usage constitutes consumer deception.
This decision reverses a 2022 ruling from the Zurich Administrative Court, which had initially found that terms like “planted.chicken” were not misleading when used in conjunction with clear vegan labelling. That judgment followed a complaint by Zurich’s cantonal laboratory, which oversees local food safety enforcement, and objected to the use of meat-associated names on plant-based packaging.
In January 2023, Switzerland’s Department of Home Affairs (DHA)—which oversees food policy at the federal level—appealed the lower court’s decision. The federal court has now sided with the DHA, determining that both product naming and marketing materials must avoid any wording that could suggest animal content in plant-based products.
Terms like “steak” still permissible
Although terms such as “steak” or “fillet” remain legally permissible, the court concluded that names directly tied to animal species are not compatible with non-meat products, regardless of additional plant-based qualifiers.
Planted Foods, one of Switzerland’s leading producers of plant-based protein products, was at the centre of the legal proceedings. The company had argued that consumers can distinguish between plant-based and animal-based products without difficulty and cited market research supporting that position.
Judith Wemmer, co-founder of Planted, criticised the verdict, stating it creates “unnecessary bureaucracy” and disregards consumer understanding. She added, “This decision appears to be driven by politics and emotions,” and claimed it contradicts national efforts to encourage dietary shifts toward plant-based foods, as reported by The Local.
Implications for European labelling policies
The case is notable in the broader European context, where terminology for alternative protein products remains under scrutiny. While the European Parliament rejected a proposed ban on dairy-related language in 2021, known as Amendment 171, France and Belgium have pursued national restrictions on terms like “vegetable steak” and “vegetarian chicken,” although enforcement has yet to be finalised in those countries.
With this ruling, Switzerland becomes the first European jurisdiction to implement a judicial ban on the use of species-specific meat terms in the marketing of vegan food products. The decision is expected to influence labelling practices across the country and may serve as a reference point in future European regulatory debates on plant-based terminology.
