Comment by inigyou
4 hours ago
Did you know in Germany it's illegal to call a product "soy yoghurt" because yoghurt is a dairy product?
4 hours ago
Did you know in Germany it's illegal to call a product "soy yoghurt" because yoghurt is a dairy product?
Wisconsin ("America's dairyland" according to the motto, although other states produce more these days) tries occasionally to introduce bills to prevent non-dairy beverages labeling themselves "milk" in the state on the grounds that it's misleading. I always wonder if they succeed, will peanut butter be next on their radar?
Here in America it’s the same - the people selling the fake stuff (sorry, “plant based stuff”) get around it by using fanciful spellings, that’s why we have “Cheez” and “OatMylk” and stuff. Also a VERY popular one: “Crème” - sounds fancy and French!! McDonalds offers a “Strawberries & Crème Pie.”
Specificity and rules in German bureaucracy? A real shock, let me tell you.
As a result of this, half the stuff in a German supermarket doesn't say what it is on the packaging, just the brand name. So soy yoghurt doesn't say soy yoghurt, it says Alpro and you just have to guess or interpret the fine print to know that it's soy yoghurt.
Even actual yoghurt can't say yoghurt. It has to say mild yoghurt, on some technicality.
Second order effects of well intentioned regulation. As is tradition.
That sounds like industry lobbying got the better of them, we have similar fights going on here around calling things plant "milk" or "butter" and the rest. What a shame, I can't imagine it's a lot of fun having to forensically examine every item on the shelf.