(Reuters) - The maker of Tofurky meat substitute products has lost an appeal seeking to block a Missouri law making it a crime to misrepresent a plant-based product as a meat product, one of several similar state laws the company is fighting around the country.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday ruled that Turtle Island Foods SPC, which does business as Tofurky Company, had failed to show that the law applied to its products or that it was at any risk of enforcement, affirming a lower court's ruling denying a preliminary injunction.

Tofurky and its attorney, Anthony Rothert of the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Nor did the office of Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, which defended the law.

Missouri in 2018 passed a law that made "misrepresenting a product as meat that is not derived from harvested production livestock or poultry" a crime, punishable by up to one year in prison.

Tofurky sued the state that year in the Western District of Missouri, arguing the law was an unconstitutional restriction on its speech and seeking a preliminary injunction blocking it from taking effect. The state argued that no injunction was necessary because the law did not apply to Tofurky's products, which are all clearly labeled as plant-based. Tofurky said it believed that it could be prosecuted under the law because it used terms normally used for meat, like burger and hot dog, for its products.

U.S. District Judge Fernando Gaitan denied the motion, agreeing with the state Tofurky had not shown it would likely be harmed.

On appeal, Tofurky argued that it was still at risk of harm because any of the state's independent county-level prosecutors could interpret the law differently, creating a chilling effect on the company's speech despite the state's assurances.

Senior Circuit Judge Michael Melloy wrote Monday that the company had failed to justify a preliminary injunction, though he said the scarcity of evidence in the record meant that the ruling may provide "little guidance" for the district court in resolving the merits of the case on remand.

"Plaintiffs submitted only seven labels in support of their motion, none of which - in the eyes of plaintiffs, the state, or the district court - misrepresent their products as meat," Melloy wrote. "On this limited record, and given the parties' arguments, the district court acted within its discretion in reading the statute as not prohibiting plaintiffs' commercial speech."

Melloy was joined by Circuit Judge Jane Kelly.

Circuit Judge Steven Colloton dissented, saying that the court should have remanded the case with instructions to dismiss it for lack of standing because Tofurky had failed to show harm.

"Speculation that the plaintiffs might not have presented their best evidence does not allow them to defer a showing of standing to a later stage of the proceedings," he said.

Tofurky previously an injunction against an Arkansas law banning the representation of plant-based products as meat. It has also filed a lawsuit against another such law in Louisiana, which has agreed not to enforce the law until the dispute is resolved.

The case is Turtle Island Foods SPC et al v. Thompson, 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 19-3154.

For Tofurky: Anthony Rothert of the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri

For Missouri: Assistant Attorney General Justin Smith