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War on fake meat in Northern Ireland as vegan sausage rolls could be banned under EU plot to outlaw selling plant-based food using ‘meaty terms’

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By TOM COTTERILL, SENIOR REPORTER

Published: 11:43 BST, 8 October 2025 | Updated: 11:44 BST, 8 October 2025

Northern Ireland is facing a ‘culture war’ over fake meat, which could see a vegan sausage roll ban being imposed upon it by the EU if they are not renamed.

The European Parliament is today expected to vote in favour of outlawing plant-based food sold under ‘meaty terms’.

Should the motion be backed, meat-free products in Northern Ireland will have to be sold under new names like ‘tubes’ or ‘discs’ because of a push from conservative EU lawmakers to appease farmers.

Thanks to Brexit, Britain is escaping the sweeping attack on vegan food products by Brussels.

It’s understood Greggs vegan sausage rolls will also escape the EU name ban because of a loophole in the Brexit treaty.

However, the ban will still operate in Northern Ireland – should it be approved – because of the Windsor Framework, which means the country must follow some EU rules that Britain does not, including on food labelling.

The prospect has outraged unionist politicians, who say the country has been given no say on rules imposed upon it by the European Union.

Robin Swann, an MP for the Ulster Unionist Party, said: ‘This regulatory absurdity highlights the urgent need to scrap the Irish Sea border and ensure NI businesses operate under UK, not EU, law.’

Vegan sausage rolls could be banned in Northern Ireland if they are not renamed. The change could come into effect after a vote by the European Parliament. Greggs vegan sausage rolls, however, will be immune to the change thanks to a loophole in Brexit rules

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The treaty created the Irish Sea border, which kept the land border with the Republic of Ireland invisible after Brexit while introducing checks on British goods.

However, it also created a loophole which ensures vegan sausage rolls produced by bakery giant Greggs, and other similar products made in Britain, can continue to be sold in Northern Ireland under their proper UK name.

Greggs makes the pastries in Britain before they are shipped to 24 bakeries in Northern Ireland.

The goods are imported across the Irish Sea via a ‘green lane’ for items deemed not at risk of crossing into Ireland.

However, Unionist politicians have said Brussels’ influence on some aspects of Northern Irish life are becoming ludicrous.

Timothy Gaston, the member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for the Traditional Unionist Voice, said: ‘Once again, Northern Ireland finds itself bound by rules it did not make, subject to decisions in which no Northern Ireland representative has a vote.

‘While the European Parliament debates what a sausage roll can be called, businesses here must brace for yet another layer of regulation that applies in Belfast but not in Birmingham.’

The vote in the European Parliament is being held later today.

Northern Irish politicians have expressed their exasperation at the vote, which is being taken at the European Parliament later today (file image)

Political analysts say the ban is expected to be backed by the centre-right European People’s Party – the largest in Strasbourg – as well as the hard-right and some liberal MEPs.

Céline Imart, the centre-Right lead MEP who put forward the amendment, said: ‘A steak is made of meat – full stop. Using these names only for real meat keeps labels honest, protects farmers and preserves Europe’s culinary traditions.’

Thomas Waitz, an Austrian Green MEP, said: ‘This is a cultural war, and this is a cultural war that has been started by the far-Right.’

Should the ban be voted through, the Northern Ireland Assembly does have the power to can delay the application of EU law by using the ‘Stormont brake’.

The legislation is designed to temporarily block the application of a rule if it has a ‘significant impact specific to everyday life in Northern Ireland in a way that is liable to persist’.

On the two previous occasions this brake has been tested, however, the UK government has denied its use, claiming it did not meet the threshold.

It is also unclear whether there is sufficient opposition to this new rule within the assembly.

BrusselsGreggsNorthern Ireland

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War on fake meat in Northern Ireland as vegan sausage rolls could be banned under EU plot to outlaw selling plant-based food using ‘meaty terms’

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