The Food and Drug Administration published draft guidance for labeling plant-based alternatives to animal-derived products, including eggs. However, with the guidance arriving during the final weeks of the Biden administration, the document’s future fate is uncertain.

Under the draft guidance, plant-based alternatives would be permitted to use the name of another food as long as it was not misleading. However, FDA also says the competing products should identify their plant sources, and not just be labeled “plant-based,” “meatless” or “vegetarian.” The agency provides a hypothetical example label for “chia & flax seed egg-less scramble.”

UEP previously argued that under the Federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act, plant-based alternatives to eggs should be labeled “imitation eggs” if they are nutritionally inferior to real eggs, and “substitute eggs” if they are nutritionally equivalent.

Comments on the FDA’s draft guidance are due May 7, 2025. UEP’s Government Relations Committee will discuss the guidance at its upcoming meeting in Atlanta.

It is common for incoming Presidential administrations to call a time-out on regulations and other actions of the previous administration, especially when it is of a different party. Should the Trump administration follow this pattern, as is expected, it is uncertain when or whether the draft guidance would be finalized.