LABEL COMPLIANCE
Any spirits that are sold in Europe need to comply with labelling rules. Although in principle it should be straightforward, the reality is more complicated. There are minimum requirements at EU level, including some which stipulate where the information should be placed and others setting out size. On top of that are national requirements, including the language to be used.
Furthermore, some provisions are based in law while others are linked to packaging waste schemes or “voluntary” commitments to provide information. The matrix of labelling rules can be bewildering and it is perhaps not surprising that there are spirits on sale bearing inappropriate names or descriptions. All such products risk challenges from enforcement authorities
Soper Consulting has spent 25 years on EU and national labelling law in the spirits sector. Its owner represented Scotch Whisky when EU food labelling laws were negotiated, wrote most of the 2018 spirit sector’s self-regulatory proposal to the European Commission and created all the production, nutrition and ingredient templates for every category of spirit drink made in the EU.
Soper Consulting is therefore well-placed to provide guidance on your labelling, to try to ensure that, wherever in the world the spirit is produced, its labels comply with EU and national rules. Please get in touch to discuss your proposed labels or for questions about labels that are already being used.
CONTACT
Please get in touch to discuss any aspect of the labelling rules for spirit drinks at EU level or in individual Member States, including possible training requirements.
We will look forward to hearing from you.
