The UK Government is currently backing a revision of its labelling scheme on all alcoholic beverages.
The new system is being introduced voluntarily by the UK’s alcohol companies with the intention of providing the consumer with more information regarding responsible drinking. The changes are being introduced in conjunction with the UK Department of Health and will hopefully lead the way for other European countries to implement similar changes.
Earlier this year the UK Health Minister Anna Soubry confirmed that the Government had been involved in discussions with their alcohol companies relating to its labelling scheme.
During parliamentary questions she responded with, "The Government is committed to improving the labelling of alcoholic drinks, which would make people more aware of how much alcohol they are drinking, what the guidelines are and what the risks are, including for those who are pregnant."
The Tory MP continued by saying, "The Department has discussed the possible inclusion of calorie content with labels representatives of the alcohol industry on a number of occasions."
Alcohol producers within the UK have pledged to include three elements of health-related advisory information on 80% of its product labels be the end of December 2013.
The three main elements to be included will be: the unit content (per container), the Chief Medical Officer’s sensible drinking guidelines (Men 3-4 units daily, Women 2-3 units daily) and a warning about drinking during pregnancy (this can be shown in the form of a logo instead).
Other optional content could be incorporated into the beer labels to offer further information to the consumer, this could include the alcohol content per serving, the responsibility statement and/or the drinkaware.co.uk website.
The changes stem from the ‘Responsibility Deal’ set up by the UK Government which included key pledges relating not only to alcohol but also to food, behaviour change, physical activity and health at work.
For more information about how this revision could affect your needs for food and drinks labels then please contact us at sales@labelservice.co.uk or call 01344 636450
