A new commitment with the European Commission has secured an agreement by European beer producers, which will see additional ingredient and calorie information on beer labels.
Drinks Ireland, has recently signed the ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ (MoU) with the European Commission to provide clear information regarding ingredients and energy values on labels.
The new agreement will commit beer producers to provide this consumer information on the labels of bottles and cans of beer in the EU market by 2022.
The voluntary MoU was officially signed by the Brewers of Europe on behalf of the representative body for drinks manufacturers and suppliers in Ireland.
Plans to introduce the European-wide MoU was first announced on the 14 June, earlier this year.
Voluntary Information
Patricia Callan, director of Drinks Ireland said that over the last four years brewers in the Irish market have been rolling out ingredients and energy labelling on a voluntary basis.
"Across Europe 60% of beers sold have calorie information, while 85% already carry an ingredients list," she highlighted.
“This MoU signed today further demonstrates a strong commitment by brewers in Ireland and across the EU to provide this information, with ambitious timelines for delivery."
Callan noted: “The Irish beer sector is proud of the quality products it makes and wants to further empower consumers when they’re making purchasing decisions.”
Drinks Ireland said in a statement that the move followed significant engagement between industry and the European Commission, demonstrating the benefits of a collaborative approach.
Spirits MoU
On the 5 June, Drinks Ireland (formerly ABFI) signed a MoU to ensure that moving forward, European spirit companies print energy information on the labels of products along with providing online ingredient listings including raw materials used.
The MoU was also signed by the sector’s European trade association, spiritsEUROPE, and a number of other trade groups and companies.
According to the statement, the provision will see that one quarter of spirits bottles placed on the EU market will include energy labels by next year, rising to two thirds by 2022.
© 2018 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
