UK's first vegan 'cheese' monger is misleading customers, dairy industry complains
The dairy industry is taking action against the first vegan cheese monger, arguing that calling plant-based products “cheese” is “misleading”.
La Fauxmagerie, which opened in Brixton, South London, sells artisan cheese made from plant-based sources such as coconut oil and blended cashews.
It is the first 100 per cent vegan cheese monger to open in the UK.
The sisters, Charlotte and Rachel Stevens, who founded the business, posted on Instagram about their opening weekend on Sunday, which was a sell-out success.
Co-founder of the “cheese monger”, Rachel Stevens, told local paper Brixton Buzz: “Historically, vegan cheeses have been seen as undesirable alternatives to their dairy counterparts; La Fauxmagerie aims to challenge that perception by stocking artisanal vegan cheeses that are truly delicious in their own right."
She refers to the product as “cheese”, telling vegan website LiveKindly: “Our aim with La Fauxmagerie is to bring the most delicious cheeses together in one place, so that those going dairy-free needn’t compromise on flavour nor variety.”
However, the dairy industry has hit back at the sisters - and is planning to tell them to stop calling their products “cheese”.
A spokesperson said: “Dairy UK has a duty to ensure the nutritional and health benefits of real dairy are recognised by and communicated to consumers. It concerns us that consumers are being misled with the use of dairy terms like cheese by the plant-based sector.
“It is fundamental to protect the consumer from product descriptions which are misleading. In the first instance, we will be contacting La Fauxmagerie to make them aware of the current EU ruling on the protection of dairy terms.
“Like milk, cheese has a host of nutritional benefits and is a source of a number of important nutrients including calcium, protein, vitamin A, phosphorus and vitamin B12.”
Vegan cheese has become more and more popular in the last year, with shops such as Sainsbury’s and Waitrose beginning to stock vast ranges of the plant-based alternative.
