The growing demand for vegan and vegetarian products has made transparent labelling a necessity. The new and groundbreaking guidelines issued by the Austrian Codex Commission in November 2023 on the misleading labelling of plant-based, vegan and vegetarian foods are intended to help provide consumers with clear guidance when they are buying such products.
The most recent decision on the labelling of "vegan" products highlights the "vegan" labelling requirements on food packaging. The proceedings before the Regional Administrative Court of Vienna relate to an order to make changes to the labelling of a product labelled as "vegan". The decision is based on the Food Safety and Consumer Protection Act (Lebensmittel-sicherheits- und Verbraucherschutzgesetz). In particular, it refers to Section 5 para. 2 no. 3 of the Act, which stipulates that consumers must not be misled by special labelling.