Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Why do we need this label?

Until now the ever increasing number of vegetarians and food conscious consumers had no way of finding out whether a product was really vegetarian or not. In addition, ordering a vegetarian meal in many restaurants was a question of luck not judgement.
This label tackles and solves both of these problems comprehensively.
More reasons for this label are listed below: Why this label?

Why isn’t the list of ingredients sufficient?

In the case of pre-prepared meals such as soups and sauces, it is usually not immediately obvious if it contains meat stock or animal fat. In order to read a list of ingredients correctly quite a bit of practice is needed. In addition there are even ingredients where it is not clear whether they can be classified as vegetarian or not. Animal fat for example, can mean not only butter, but also fat from slaughtered animals (although as a rule this type of fat is labelled). In the case of additives, E472 for example, and many others, it is impossible to find out just by looking at the ingredients whether a product with additives has been manufactured using dead animals or not. In addition there are ingredients of animal origin which, for various reasons, do not have to be declared: for example rennet, which comes from the stomach of a calf, is added to the cheese making process, or gelatine, for the manufacture of vinegar and fruit juices. Even after making inquiries about the critical ingredients with the producer and being very knowledgeable about food production, there is always the problem that the ingredients of a product can be changed unannounced.
Just one look at the V label will therefore simplify shopping for vegetarian products dramatically.

Who is this label aimed at?

By having such a clear declaration the label helps not only all vegetarians (from ovo-lacto-vegetarians to vegans) but also is a great help to all those who suffer from allergies or who have health complications if they eat animal products.
A further group are those who do not want to eat certain animal products for religious reasons (i.e. Muslims: pork; Jews: non-ritually slaughtered animals; Hindus: meat and eggs etc.). No religion forbids vegetarian fare, but many have strong restrictions with regard to consuming animal foodstuffs.
And of course for everyone else, who, for whatever reason, really wants to eat vegetarian.

What lies behind the label?

The European Vegetarian Label has been registered European-wide by the European Vegetarian Union, which is co-ordinating the introduction of products and services labelling at the moment.
In individual countries the label will be represented by their respective national organisations.

What do Vegans get from this label?

Although it is a vegetarian label, Vegans also profit from it. In licensed restaurants all the meals classified by the label will be noted in the vegetarian section, so it will be obvious which are suitable for Vegans and which are not. Where this is not possible, the staff will at least have been thoroughly trained, so that Vegans will also be served properly.

What do the Vegetarian categories mean?

• Ovo-lacto-vegetarian (with milk and eggs)
• Ovo-vegetarian (with eggs, no milk)
• Lacto-vegetarian (with milk, no eggs)
• Vegan (without any animal products)

Naturally strict conditions will apply to every category with regard to slaughter products. Of course under milk and eggs every ingredient will be understood (whey, egg white, egg-lecithin, milk sugar etc.) Moreover, honey is only forbidden in the vegan category. The classification into these four categories is internationally uniform. In Switzerland it is even legally laid down in the new food regulations.

Which groups of persons can be reached with the different vegetarian category? Groups-table.