European Citizens' Initiative: Commission registers 'Mandatory food labelling Non-Vegetarian / Vegetarian / Vegan' initiative'

The European Commission has today decided to register a European Citizens' Initiative entitled 'Mandatory food labelling Non-Vegetarian / Vegetarian / Vegan'.

The initiative states that: "Vegetarians and vegans struggle across the EU to identify suitable food. We must study the ingredients list of a food product to determine if it is fit for purchase with a hyper-awareness of ambiguous ingredients that could either be plant or animal based". The organisers call on the European Commission to propose mandatory pictorial labels on all food products indicating whether they are non-vegetarian, vegetarian, or vegan.

The Commission's decision to register the Initiative concerns only the legal admissibility of the proposal. The Commission has not analysed the substance at this stage.