Vegans in the south of London were pleased last month when La Fauxmangerie opened its doors, marketing itself as the UK’s first ‘vegan cheesemonger’. All of its products are “100 per cent animal and animal derivative free” and are sold in plastic-free packaging made from recycled and recyclable materials.
However, they could be in breach of the law. A spokesperson for Dairy UK said that the organisation has a “duty to ensure the nutritional and health benefits of real dairy are recognised by and communicated to consumers.”
“It concerns us that consumers are being misled with the use of dairy terms like cheese by the plant-based sector.”
The spokesperson said that they will be contacting La Fauxmangerie to make them aware of the restrictions. EU regulations maintain tight control over terms such as milk, cheese and butter, stating that they can only be used to refer to products derived from dairy. France has passed legislation which bans plant-based substitute being referred to as their full-meat counterparts, like ‘vegetarian sausages’ or ‘vegan bacon’.
The impending Brexit would of course mean that producers in the UK are no longer beholden to such laws – however, the UK could institute laws of its own.
