Practices Directive (UCPD14), and may thus give rise to liability if the claim deviates from the reasonable expectations of the average consumer. The lack of a shared definition has prompted both national authorities and courts to step in, offering partial solutions through administrative guidance and judicial decisions. Several Member States have begun to address the definitional gap through soft‑law or judicial interpretation. In Germany, consumer protection authorities formally adopted Leitsätze in 2016 (revised in 202415), setting a minimum standard that foods labelled “vegan” must contain no animal-derived ingredients, except where trace contamination is unavoidable despite best practices. In Slovenia, the legal landscape is less developed: while vegan options are increasingly available in public institutions,16 there is no mandatory standard or national definition for the term “vegan” in catering, and oversight depends on general consumer protection and food safety rules. Some courts have started to adjudicate disputes over vegan claims under general consumer law. This evolving case law has sparked debate on whether “vegan” merits a legally protected status similar to “organic,” backed by harmonised regulatory criteria. A notable case in France led the Conseil d’État to refer matters to the CJEU. In October 2024, the CJEU ruled in Protéines France and Others v France17 that Member States may not prohibit the use of meatderived terms such as “burger” or “sausage” for plant-based products, provided they are clearly labelled and not misleading. Parallel case law is emerging in Austria and Finland: for example, the Vienna Administrative Court (2023)18 dismissed a complaint regarding the use of “salmon” for plant-based alternatives, 14 Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2005 concerning unfair businessto-consumer commercial practices in the internal market (Unfair Commercial Practices Directive) [2005] OJ L149/22. 15 See, Leitsätze für vegane und vegetarische Lebensmittel mit Ähnlichkeit zu Lebensmitteln tierischen Ursprungs: Neufassung vom 10. September 2024 (BAnz AT 09.10.2024 B2, GMBl 39/2024, 844–848) https://www.bmel.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/_Ernaehrung/Lebensmittel-Kennzeichnung/ LeitsaetzevegetrarischeveganeLebensmittel.pdf and Marielle Gerke and Meike Janssen, ‘Vegan food labels: A choice experiment and eye tracking study using consumer-packaged sandwiches’ (2017) 64(3) Ernährungs Umschau International 51–57 https://www.ernaehrungs-umschau.de/fileadmin/Ernaehrungs-Umschau/pdfs/ pdf_2017/03_17/EU03_2017_WuF_Gerke_englisch.pdf, both accessed 3 June 2025. 16 Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Education, Smernice za prehranjevanje v vzgojno-izobraževalnih zavodih (2024) https://www.gov.si/assets/ministrstva/MVI/Dokumenti/Osnovna-sola/Smernice-za-prehranjevanje-vVIZ-2024.pdf accessed 3 June 2025. 17 Protéines France and Others v France (C438/23) judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber, 4 October 2024) ECLI:EU:C:2024:744 (CJEU press release) https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2024-10/ cp240168en.pdf accessed 6 June 2025. 18 Decision of Vienna Administrative Court, 3 April 2023, Case no 15777/2022 (dismissing complaint re: plant-based “salmon”) https://www.cerhahempel.com/blog/food-law/vegan-labelling-misleading-labelling-practice accessed 6 June 2025 171 RESPONSIBILITY FOR VEGAN DISHES IN GASTRONOMY
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