Vuoti Normativi e Instabilità Definitoria: I Termini Vegano e Vegetariano Normalizzati da Enti Certificatori Privati a Tutela del Consumatore

This study aims to provide a general overview of the state of vegan and vegetarian terminology in the Italian and European regulatory context and to provide descriptive terminological cards about certifications and trademarks to facilitate communication between institutions and consumers.

The legal vacuum in the field of veganism and vegetarianism has led to the creation of certifications and trademarks granted to companies and/or products upon compliance with a product specification. However, the requirements for these certifications may vary from case to case. Linguistically, this has resulted in the spread of misleading definitions of "vegan" and "vegetarian." Therefore, the study is divided into three steps: First, the concepts of trademarks, certifications, and product specifications are defined. Then, common and distinctive features of descriptions in production specifications in Italian, English, and French are identified and discussed. Finally, terminological cards defining these concepts are created and uploaded to the online multilingual database www.definire.eu.