A vegan seafood firm has won a bizarre legal battle with Town Hall food safety chiefs who tried to ban their plant-based salmon.
Baffled Revo Foods in Vienna, Austria, were told they were to be investigated by judges after food regulators claimed their product could mislead shoppers.
Their packaging already declares the contents are “100 per cent plant-based” and made entirely from “pea protein.”
The high-tech mock salmon is created by a huge 3D food printer which adds supplements like Omega 3 which is found in fished salmon.
But Town Hall officials thought shoppers could still be fooled into thinking they were buying the real thing.
The packet has the word ‘salmon’ placed prominently on the front and cartoon images appear to show swimming fish.
Now in a ruling on 19th February judges at the Viennese Administrative Court have declared that the council’s case has failed.
Revo Foods founder and CEO Robin Simsa said: “Our packaging declares that only 100 per cent plant-based ingredients are used and clearly labels the products as vegan.”
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He added: “Many consumers are specifically looking for these types of products and it is important to give guidance of the product taste with descriptive names.”
Vegan and alternative food products like oat milk and plant-based sausages have faced a growing number of complaints and marketing restrictions across Europe.
Simsa believes non-traditional food producers should be encouraged, not chased through the courts.
He said: “A clear one-sidedness or distortion of competition is recognisable here.
“Meat and fish farms are heavily subsidised by the public sector through lower tax rates or by agricultural subsidies.
“However, meat is by far the biggest climate driver in food production.
“Is this approach in line with the ‘European Green Deal’ with which Europe wants to promote more environmental protection? We don’t think so.”
Simsa said customers should be allowed to make up their minds on whether or not they like his product, which sells for EUR 5 (GBP 4.30) for an 80g pack.
He said: “It flakes very nicely into layers just like salmon. It also has a similar taste, but like any meat alternative, it’s not 100 per cent the same.”
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Story By: Thomas Hochwarter, Sub-Editor: Thomas Hochwarter, Agency: Newsflash
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