School food policies

• In the EU, a number of School Food Policies specify the amount of protein (as grams of protein per meal, or as % energy) for meals served to schoolchildren ( JRC 2014 (pdf) ). Often protein standards for meals are based on age-group specific protein recommendations.
• School Food Policies from EU Member States, specify the number of times where protein sources different from meat and milk (i.e. legumes, soy based products, fish and eggs) are served within school lunches ( JRC 2014 (pdf) ,EC webpage).

Public procurement

• Multiple EU Member States introduced plant-based diets in public procurement, e.g. through specifying the share of different food groups in the diets, reducing or banning some products, promoting some products, and/or mandating the frequency of a certain type of meal or products. A key component of this initiative is to promote plant-based proteins as alternatives to animal proteins (JRC 2024; JRC 2025).

Food system initiatives

• In Finland, the Leg4Life (Legumes for a Sustainable Food System and a Healthy Life) is a project of comprehensive solutions to promote legume cultivation and their use in food and feed. One aspect of the project is to improve product development and using nudges (e.g., repositioning food in canteens) to encourage plant-based choices ( Leg4Life webpage )

Compositional requirements of foods for special groups

• Reg. (EU) 2016/127 ( EU 2016 ) has specific amino acid composition and protein content ranges for infant and follow-on formulae:
• Protein content in infant formulae manufactured from cow's or goat's milk proteins or from protein hydrolysates must be minimum 1,8g/100Kcal and maximum 3g/100Kcal. For infant formulae manufactured from soya protein isolate, alone or in a mixture with cow's or goat's milk protein, the minimum protein must be 2,25g/100ml and the maximum 3g/100Kcal.
• Protein content in follow-up formulae manufactured from cow's milk proteins or from protein hydrolysates must be minimum 1,8g/100Kcal and maximum 3,5 g/100Kcal. For infant formulae manufactured from soya protein isolate, alone or in a mixture with cow's or goat's milk protein, the minimum protein must be 2,25g/100ml and the maximum 3,5 g/100Kcal.

Specialised settings meals

• The German Nutrition Society has issued voluntary quality standards for total protein content in lunches in specific locations such as day-care centres, schools, workplaces, meals on wheels, as well as all kind of meals in hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals and senior-caring facilities ( DGE 2023 ).

Food based dietary guidelines

• Food based dietary guidelines from a number of countries recommend that populations reduce their protein intake from animal-derived foods and switch to more plant based alternatives (Food-Based Dietary Guidelines in Europe), e.g. consuming legumes frequently to replace meat and meat products (EC webpage). 
• Dietary guidelines from a number of food and health-related organisations relevant in, or from, the EU issued recommended intakes for legumes and pulses (EC webpage)
• The FAO ( FAO 2023 ) weighs nutrition and environmental trade-offs and recommends considering local contexts and promoting nutrient-dense foods (even those with higher environmental impacts) over plant-based protein foods when iron deficiency is high in low-resource contexts for example.

Public health campaigns

• Campaigns exist in various EU Member States to promote legume consumption (EC webpage)