the european commission report on alcohol labelling - The Lobby

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Mar 13, 2017 - National initiatives and risk of market fragmentation: →. Some Member States have adopted national rule
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION REPORT ON ALCOHOL LABELLING What’s at stake? A Grayling Policy Briefing In a nutshell 





Published on 13 March 2017, the European Commission’s Report on Alcohol Labelling assessed the need for mandatory labelling of the list of ingredients and the nutrition declaration for alcoholic beverages. Following the conclusions of the report, the Commission has decided to invite the alcoholic beverages' industry to develop, within a year, a self-regulatory proposal aiming to provide information on ingredients and nutrition information for all alcoholic beverages. Should the Commission consider the self-regulatory approach proposed by the industry as unsatisfactory, it would then launch an impact assessment to review regulatory as well as nonregulatory options, in particular regarding information on the energy value of alcoholic beverages.

The report’s key conclusions

Labelling to increase consumer knowledge:  The list of ingredients and the nutrition declaration are key information that help consumers to make more informed and healthier choices.  In the case of alcoholic beverages, it cannot be assumed that consumers are necessarily aware of the generally various ingredients used in the production process and of their nutritional value. Many calls for action:  The European Parliament, but also the World Health Organisation, consumer and public health organisations are asking for new labelling rules for alcoholic beverages, especially concerning the labelling of the energy value. Recognising the importance of voluntary initiatives:  An increasing number of voluntary initiatives have emerged providing consumers with information on the ingredients, the energy value or the full nutrition declaration of alcoholic beverages. National initiatives and risk of market fragmentation:  Some Member States have adopted national rules requesting partial indication of ingredients for certain alcoholic drinks or nutrition declaration for alcoholic beverages. Such national initiatives contribute to an increased risk of market fragmentation.

Initial stakeholder reactions 

Multinational companies and their industry associations generally welcome the Commission’s report which supports the further development of current voluntary initiatives but their opinions differ on technical issues. For example, Spirits Europe recognises an increased interest in the calories contained in their beverages but advocates there is no value in showing calories per 100ml as it misrepresents the calories present in an average glass. It supports however showing the information per serving. The Brewers of Europe, however, argue that the 100ml reference is widely understood by consumers across the EU as the robust standard for comparing the nutritional contents of different drinks. As for the the wine sector, the CEEV underlines the inherent challenges due to the nature of the sector, mostly made of SMEs and important variations between producers and years of production.



Health campaign groups such as the European Alcohol Policy Alliance are disappointed by the conclusions of the report and argue that self-regulation is not a suitable regulatory mechanism. They point out that listing ingredients contained in a beverage alerts the consumers to the presence of any potentially harmful or problematic substances and nutritional information allows consumers to monitor their diets better.



Consumer groups such as the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) also regret that the report does not call for immediate regulatory measures. They doubt that voluntary initiatives will bridge the information gap between alcoholic and other drinks and don’t see any reason why alcoholic beverages should get special treatment.

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Business impact  



A self-regulatory approach is a big win for the alcoholic beverages’ industry it recognises the industry’s willingness to provide consumers with relevant information. It means the industry will be able to lead the debate on the amount and type of information to be provided. The issue will be for the different sectors (beers, wines and liquors) to get along and agree on a common proposal, which may prove challenging. This policy win for the alcohol industry is still fragile as the European Commission and health campaigners will assess in detail the industry’s proposal. If the proposal is deemed unsatisfactory, the industry could eventually face a way much stricter legislative framework.

What’s next? 



Following today's report, the industry should propose within a year a harmonised approach aiming to provide consumers with information about the ingredients present in alcoholic beverages and the nutritional value of alcoholic beverages. This report will constitute a challenge for the alcohol industry that will need, first of all to find a common approach but also to agree on appropriate measures that would satisfy the Commission and eventually avoid a regulatory approach. *** Want to know how the Grayling team can support? Get in touch! [email protected]

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