The European Parliament has made ‘vegan’ a legally protected term. This important step means that food labelled, ‘suitable for vegans’ should not be made using anything from animals, living or dead.
George Rodger, Chair of the Vegan Society Council of Trustees said today, “This is a great day for veganism in Europe and indeed the world, as vegans and veganism are now given official recognition. We look forward to the UK government putting it into practice.”
Wednesday 16 Jun 2010 saw the European Parliament vote to give legal protection to the term, 'vegan', as part of Amendment No 175 of new consumer food information regulations. This has closed a legal loop-hole – the terms ‘vegan’ and ‘vegetarian’ previously had no legally enforceable definition in Europe. We can all now look forward to reliable food labelling.
According to Article 35 of the European Food Information Act, “The term 'vegan' should not be applied to foods that are, or are made from or with the aid of, animals or animal products (including products from living animals).” (Also defined, “The term 'vegetarian' should not be applied to foods that are, or are made from or with the aid of products derived from animals that have died, have been slaughtered, or animals that die as a result of being eaten.”)
The new rules are likely to come into legal force around 2014.
Well done to The Vegan Society for their hard work on this.
Love & Peace!
Lauren
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