(ANSA) - Rome, June 14 - The EU Court of Justice on Wednesday said purely plant-based products cannot be marketed with designations such as 'milk', 'cream', 'butter', 'cheese' or 'yoghurt', in a decision hailed by Italian producers.

The head of milk producers' association Assolatte, Massimo Fiorino, told ANSA the decision was "important" as it confirmed that such designations are reserved by EU law for animal products.

"The problem is that the world of vegetal products wants to acquire names that aren't theirs", he added.

Farmers' association Coldiretti also hailed the decision saying that such denominations to describe plant-based products "deceive consumers", endangering milk producers to unfair competition from products, like soy-based beverages and food, that are currently worth "198 million euros in Italy, up 7.4% over the past year".

