Supreme Court decides about labeling of plant based products (“planted chicken”)

On 2 May 2025, in case 2C_26/2023, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court upheld an appeal by the Federal Administration (EDI), concluding that it is not permissible to label plant-based meat substitute products using the name of an animal species (e.g., “planted.chicken”, “vegan pork”, “like chicken”). This decision overturns a prior 2022 judgment by the Zurich Administrative Court, which had sided with the company Planted.

According to the Federal Supreme Court’s media release, this type of labelling is likely to mislead consumers, even where additional indications such as “vegan” or “plant-based” are included. The written grounds of the decision are still pending.

You may find the official press release from the Federal Supreme Court here: Press release

This ruling raises important questions about consumer perception and the boundaries of marketing language in the context of evolving dietary preferences. Many would argue that the decision fails to reflect current market realities and underestimates consumers’ ability to differentiate between animal-based and plant-based products, especially in the presence of clear labelling.