Alternative protein brands like v2food and Sanitarium will face a new industry code limiting animal imagery and the use of ‘meaty’ descriptions, despite research showing Australian consumers can confidently tell between real meat and plant-based products.
Plant-based meat, dairy, and egg substitutes are now commonplace on supermarket shelves, providing alternatives to Australians who abstain from animal products for health, religious, or ethical reasons.
But some farming industry groups, including the National Farmers Federation, argue marketing terms likening alternative proteins to animal products could mislead consumers at the checkout.
Those concerns propelled a Senate committee enquiry, which in 2022 recommended the federal government establish a mandatory framework around alternative protein labelling.
After extensive research, industry engagement, and $1.5 million in taxpayer funding, the federal government on Friday confirmed it will strengthen existing guidelines by developing a voluntary industry code of practice.
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“Australian consumers should be able to clearly identify both traditional and alternative protein sources,” said Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Julie Collins, in a statement announcing the new code’s development.
The reform will “improve existing voluntary labelling guidelines, and ensure produce is readily identifiable for Australian consumers,” added Collins.
The Alternative Proteins Council — which represents market leaders including v2food, Sanitarium, Oatly, All G Foods, and cultured meat pioneer Vow — will lead the code’s development.
Friday’s announcement comes after an extensive review by Food Standards Australia New Zealand, which investigated how local shoppers understand plant-based product labeling.
It found Australian consumers are largely capable of understanding the range of alternative protein products currently available on supermarket shelves.
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“Overall, the research findings indicate that consumers can generally accurately identify the
ingredient content of plant-based protein products and dairy alternatives, are confident in the
intended use of these products, and do not believe they are nutritionally similar to an animal product
counterpart,” the report says.
Only one factor — the use of animal imagery — slightly decreased the ability of consumers to identify the contents of plant-based products.
“However, this was not to the extent that the products were misidentified as animal-based,” the report found.
While consumers felt broadly confident in their ability to tell the difference, the report noted real-world factors, like where a plant-based product is placed on supermarket shelves, could influence perceptions.
In response to those findings, the new voluntary code will discourage the use of animal imagery for plant-based products.
The code will also limit the use of meat-specific terminology, like ‘beef’ or ‘chicken’, but is likely to give brands more leeway to use utility terms like ‘sausage’ or ‘patty’.
Alternative protein brands will be encouraged to make plant-based labelling more prominent.
And the code will contain a new complaints mechanism, giving those confused by plant-based product labelling the opportunity to share their thoughts.
