Clampdown on alcoholic drink labels nets approval
Share
Voters in MarketingWeek’s online poll think alcohol brands should display health warnings on labels.
According to the latest poll, almost two-thirds (61%) think the Government is right in proposing measures to improve the unit and health information on labels.
The Government is frustrated with the drinks industry’s response to a 2007 voluntary agreement and is consulting on the best way to improve compliance. Under the voluntary agreement, alcohol labels should display five pieces of information - the unit content of each drink, a responsibility message, the address for alcohol information website Drinkaware, advice for pregnant women and daily drinking guidelines.
The Government says while some are good at displaying information, it claims just 15% of drinks give consumers enough information about units and health harms.
Should alcohol brands display health warnings on labels, as the Government is proposing?
Readers' comments (1)
Warren Edwardes | Thu, 25 Feb 2010 10:45 am
There is another side to wine labelling legislation. Wine is not just an industrial product but also an artisan product. This is quite a concern.
Specific UK labels are no problem for industrial wines and the supermarkets and global brands who sell them.
The supermarkets pass on all costs to the mega-producers whose wineries make oil refineries seem small. These wineries ship wine by the super-tanker and are often bottled and labelled in the UK.
But quality artisan family producers may produce only 5000 bottles for sale across the EU to small wine merchants as opposed to 50 million bottles a year to just a single UK supermarket.
The costs of catering to the annually changing needs of the UK for just a few cases will mean that such producers shun The UK leading to only industrial refinery wines sold in the UK and unforeseen risks to the health of the nation.
These anti-competitive monopoly enhancing rules should be restricted to wines sold at 1 million or more bottles per annum.
Moreover by admitting that the UK adult population is incapable of calculating alcohol cls from volume and ABV%, misguidedly called units, the government is admitting the failure of the school system to teach basic arithmetic. A 75 cl bottle with 12% alcohol contains 12% x 75 = 9 cl (units).
If this calculation is so difficult then The UK has very serious global competitive problems.
Wine labelling should be standardised under EU wine legislation. And Units should be abolished.
faithfully,
Warren EDWARDES
Hyde Park Wines and co-founder and ex-Chairman of the ASDW (Association of Small Direct Wine merchants)
3 Hyde Park Steps
St Georges Fields
London W2 2YQ
Unsuitable or offensive? Report this comment