Vegan Food Producers Could Have To Drop Words Like ‘Beef’ From Their Packaging In Australia

An upcoming inquiry into vegan food in Australia could soon force them to drop words like 'beef' from their packaging.

Queensland Nationals Senator Susan McDonald has launched an investigation into how consumers feel about food products that don't contain meat but still retain those words.

The former butcher explained how there is anecdotal evidence of shoppers getting confused at seeing the products in their supermarkets because they think it's beef.

Senator McDonald said the best case scenario from the inquiry will be having these plant-based food producers forced to find a new name that doesn't rely on traditional words.

She told the ABC: "One [main recommendation] will be [about] product placement - that we don't end up having plant-based proteins and animal proteins co-mingled on supermarket shelves.

"The second is about the labelling - that we don't use the picture of an animal, we don't use the name of an animal, on a product that has no reference to that animal at all."

The Australian Meat Industry Council has been campaigning for this for some time because they don't like how plant-based food companies 'piggyback' off them.

The Council said words like beef, lamb, goat, sheep, pig are well known and understood by consumers, so these vegan products shouldn't be able to rely on that imagery and brand recognition.

General manager for processing and export, Mary Wu, explained to the national broadcaster: "The plant-based industry want to freely use different terminology like 'beef' and 'sheep' and 'pork' and 'lamb', without having any degree of responsibility over the use of that terminology.

"We've even seen terms like Wagyu come up for plant-based proteins - it's ridiculous. Wagyu is a specific species of cattle.

"We have invested over decades. And then at the same time, they [plant-based food manufacturers] then try to say that our industry is not green enough."

Senator McDonald has been questioned about how big an issue food labelling is for plant-based products and whether it's necessary for an inquiry.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said it hasn't found any evidence that people were being confused while shopping in the meat and dairy aisles.

There are states in the US who have been trying to do the same thing Senator McDonald is attempting and efforts have been successful in parts of Europe.

Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

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