Legal insight: The law on vegan food labelling

TL;DR

What you should know from this insight:

1. Vegetarian and vegan food products are not the same. Vegetarian products contain no meat, whereas vegan products contain no meat or animal by-products.

2. There is no clear legal definition for vegan and plant-based, meaning there is a less strict approach taken to labelling vegan food products and there could be trace amounts of animal by-product in them.

3. Natasha’s Law can help vegans and vegetarians identify which food products contain meat and animal by-products.

4. Businesses who label food products as vegan, must ensure they do not mislead consumers if their product contains meat or animal by-products.

5. If a business does mislead consumers as to whether their food product is vegan, consumers can report them or complain to a relevant authority.

6. Consumer  rights  also require vegan food products must match the description provided. If a business has fallen below this standard then consumers are likely entitled to a legal remedy.

What’s a vegan/vegetarian product?

A vegetarian food product is a type of food that contains no meat, but may contain other animal-derived products, such as milk or eggs. A vegan product, on the other hand, doesn’t contain any kind of animal derivatives or by-products, and sometimes they can also be called ‘animal-friendly’ because of that. 

Either way, vegan and vegetarian customers tend to look out for safe products in this sense, making them heavily reliant on the information available on the labels of the products they're buying.

Vegan food labelling rules in the UK

The UK has specific food labelling rules in place, requiring certain information about all food products to be provided on their packaging, to ensure they’re safe for consumers. However, the law on vegan products is not clear, with no legal definition for the word. This means that a vegan product doesn’t have to be completely free of animal-derived products by law.

Natasha’s Law

Natasha’s Law, which came into force in October 2021, is a regulation regarding pre-packed food sold directly to consumers (ie PPDS) that requires businesses to: 

• clearly display all ingredients, and

• highlight the 14 most common allergens

For more information on Natasha’s law, read Food labelling.

Although Natasha’s Law is focused on allergy labelling, it can also be applied to vegetarian and vegan products, as five of the common allergens are animal products. Specifically, eggs, fish, milk, crustaceans (eg prawns and crabs), and molluscs (eg mussels and oysters). 

In other words, any PPDS containing such an animal-derived allergen must clearly identify this on the label. This ensures full transparency around ingredients, making it easier to determine whether a product contains animal-derived substances such as gelatin, rennet, dairy, or eggs. 

While enacted to protect those with food allergies, Natasha’s Law also benefits vegans and vegetarians by helping them identify and avoid certain hidden animal-derived ingredients. However, it’s important to highlight that whilst it helps identifying many products which contain meat and by-products, Natasha’s Law doesn’t provide full coverage, since it’s designed for allergens, so vegan consumers should always make sure they read through the whole ingredient list.

Advertising standards

There are various advertising laws and rules in place in the UK compelling businesses to advertise in a legal, truthful, compliant, and honest way. If a consumer identifies any kind of misleading advertising, for example, if a shop advertises their food as ‘gluten-free’ and it’s actually not, they have a right to contact Trading Standards (ie a government service responsible for enforcing consumer protection laws) or complain to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). 

Trading Standards can handle complaints and investigate issues related to misleading or missing information on food labels (including issues with health claims, ingredients, weights, false descriptions, allergens, and more).

The ASA has the power to impose sanctions on businesses that breach advertising rules or to refer the case to other regulatory bodies (including Trading Standards). For more information, read Advertising regulations.

The terms ‘vegan’ and ‘plant-based’ are widely understood amongst the public to mean free of meat. Businesses which voluntarily label and advertise their food products as such must not mislead their customers that the food products are suitable for a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle if they intentionally contain meat or meat by-products. Where this occurs, customers should report it to either the Trading Standards or ASA.

However, because these terms do not have clear legal definitions or specific thresholds to be met, there is no guarantee that products labelled ‘vegan’ or ‘plant-based’ have not been prepared in an animal-derivative-free environment. This means there is the possibility of some cross-contamination with trace amounts of animal-derived products (eg eggs or milk). Where this is the case, the food products should state this in a “May Contain” section of the food label (as per food allergen and safety laws) but the products can still keep the ‘vegan’ label/advertisement as well.

There have been many campaigns in recent years from institutions, such as the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, and charities, such as The Vegan Society, in an attempt to have standard legal definitions and regulations surrounding the production of vegan food products set. Though there has not been much movement to introduce any laws so far.

Consumer rights

From a consumer rights perspective, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 sets out certain quality standards that products must meet. These include products: 

• matching the description provided or available for them, and 

• being fit for purpose (ie being usable for the intended purpose)

If a consumer buys a product that doesn’t meet these standards (eg buying a supposedly vegan product and later realising it isn’t vegan), they have the right to complain directly to the seller from whom they bought the product and get a refund for it.

Although it may be frustrating for you, as a consumer, to buy something and later realise the product is not what you wanted or what was advertised, that you wouldn’t have bought if you’d known, generally the best course of action is to first try speaking directly with the business (eg flagging the issue and asking the business for a refund or exchange). Trying to resolve the issue informally first can save both time and money and avoid the legal stress involved in escalating further.

For more information, read Consumer rights. 

While the lack of a clear legal definition for ‘vegan’ can be confusing, understanding your protections under consumer and advertising law allows you to challenge incorrect labelling with confidence. If you need to challenge a misleading label, want to ensure your own business's labelling is compliant, or have any questions, do not hesitate to Ask a lawyer.