Court orders food company to stop using cream in the title of plant-based butter product

Food company Upfield is not allowed to market its plant-based butter of the brand Blue Band under the name 'Roombeter.' The court in Utrecht decided this on Tuesday. According to the court, Upfield is acting in violation of European regulations. They said the name 'room,' which means cream, can only be used in dairy products.

The Dutch Dairy Association (NZO) filed the case. They are demanding a ban on the use of the name Roombeter because Upfield is using it for a plant-based product and not a dairy product.

However, Upfield states that the name, in combination with other indications, does not "indicate or imply that it is a dairy product." For example, the packaging states that it is a "100 percent plant-based alternative to butter".

However, the court did not agree with Upfield's argument. The company was ordered to stop selling the product under the name Roombeter within three months and not resume it.

If Upfield does not comply within the timeframe set, it will be fined 5,000 euros for every day that the product is on the market using the current name, up to a maximum of 250,000 euros.

The organization foodwatch called Roombeter the most misleading product last year. The first e in the Roombeter name is designed to look like an o. That is why consumers do not know whether they are buying butter or an alternative, foodwatch said at the time.

Blue Band has said that "all the details of this disappointing verdict" will be studied but that they will go along with the court's wishes. "Blue Band does not believe that restricting consumer choice through the courts is the right way to go. We believe that consumers today are well informed and have always been able to recognize the plant-based nature of 'Blue Band Roombeter,'" said the company.