GLOBAL
News: global
EU Brewers make 2022 consumer labelling commitment
Underage drinking declining in many countries worldwide, new analysis shows Underage drinking has fallen in over two- thirds of the 63 countries where national data is available, since 2003. Australia, all parts of Great Britain, and Trinidad and Tobago have seen declines of more than 40%. The International Alliance for Responsible Drinking is emphasizing that more needs to be done to keep tackling underage drinking, through partnerships that sup- port government regulation. Since 2003, underage drinking has declined in over two-thirds of the 63 countries where national data is available, according to new data analysis1 by the International Association for Responsible Drinking. Brussels, Belgium: The Brewers of Europe and its members have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) and committed, through a Brewers’ Ambition, to labelling ingredients and energy values on all beer bottles and cans in the EU by 2022. The ambitious targets were voluntar- ily agreed with the European Commission and adopted by the General Assembly of The Brewers of Europe in June. The signing ceremony was attended by The European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Vytenis Andriukaitis who said: “I am delighted to be part of today’s event. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate you for your commitments to alcohol labelling. And I also want to encourage you to continue being a pioneer around this issue in the wider alcohol sector. Consumers have a right to know more. Many of them want more details on what their drinks contain and what it means for their health. They want this information to be clear and trans- parent – a recurrent message we receive in all our public health and food safety work.” In the last four years brewers have been voluntarily rolling out ingredients and energy labelling in full accordance with Regulation (EU) 1169/20111, setting ambitious targets along the way. As shown in an implementation report, Europe’s brewers have been making signi cant progress towards better con- sumer information, with 60% of beers already labelling calories, whilst 85%
“The main thing is to have informa- tion clearly displayed on the labels,” commented Mariann Skar, Secretary General of Eurocare. “We hope that by providing more information at least gives people a choice. We are praising the brewers because the information is on the label. Having off-label ingredients and calories, online, is just not good enough.” Thirty-seven initial signatories, including 25 national brewers’ associa- tions, put their name today to the MoU and the Brewers’ Ambition 2022, as part of an event that showcased hundreds of different beer brands from all over Europe that already meet the labelling requirements, demonstrating the breadth of the commitment and the increasing diversity of a European beer sector that now counts over 9500 breweries. Signing for The Brewers of Europe, President Pavlos Photiades said: “I am delighted that EU Health Commissioner Andriukaitis has attended the of cial signing of the MoU and our Brewers’ Ambition 2022. This is a signi cant step in a process we started four years ago, demonstrating our members’ ambition to ensure all beers label ingredients and calories. Ful lling this commitment, Europe’s brewing sector is meeting the expectations of consumers on how alcoholic beverages should be providing ingredients and calorie information”. The MoU, the Brewers’ Ambition 2022 and the latest implementation report can all be found alongside the list of current brewer signatories on beerwisdom.eu.
However, the ‘Trends in underage drinking: Working together to deliver change report’ shows underage drinking remains an issue. There have been increases in Indonesia, Thailand, and Mexico in recent years, showing there is still much work to be done. The IARD report also points out the lack of robust data collection in many areas across the world. It calls for greater efforts to monitor and tackle underage drinking internationally, as well as robust partnerships among private and public sectors and communities, to support enforce- ment of government regulation in this area. Additional research among 12,000 adults in nine countries – conducted by YouGov for IARD – found that, on average, over half (54%) of survey respondents agreed that government regulations to prevent underage drinking were not well enforced3. Over a third, on average, also (40%) believed that the alcohol industry should play a role in reducing underage drinking, coming second carry an ingredients list. With the signing by key countries of the MoU, those numbers will already grow signi cantly by next year. The purpose of the MoU is that companies take public responsibility for the declaration of ingredients and energy information on the labels of their products, whilst trade associations support these efforts including through setting local sectoral ambitions and collective reporting. The MoU is open to companies and associations from all alcoholic beverage sectors, provided that the signatory fully endorses the MoU and its commit- ment to the on-pack labelling of both ingredients and energy values. The ultimate wish is that consumers receive understandable, recognisable, compa- rable and accurate information for all alcoholic beverages.
to family members (74%).
Henry Ashworth, CEO of the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking, said: “Children and minors should not drink alcohol, or have access to it. And, although it is positive to see downward trends in many countries, there is still much work to be done. It is critical that, across the world, we continue to build on these positive, downward trends and ensure everyone recognizes the harms linked to underage drinking. “Government regulations, such as legal drinking ages, are the cornerstone for reducing underage drinking. But, effective partnerships between industry, the public sec- tor, and civil society are crucial to promoting awareness of the risks and continuing the progress that’s already underway. Together, we can ensure that the positive decline in underage drinking seen in many areas contin- ues to spread, creating long-lasting changes in our societies across the world.” ➤➤
4 ● BREWER AND DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL I october 2019
i bd.org.uk
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker