A regulation modifying the provisions on the labeling of various types of food products has been published in the Journal of Laws. According to the rules, the new law will enter into force 6 months from the date of announcement. Thanks to this, the consumer will be able to make an informed choice among drinks with an alcohol content higher than 1.2%. volume, e.g. in a restaurant or pub – explained in the regulatory impact assessment attached to the project.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development believes that the lack of available information on this issue is an obstacle to consumers who are increasingly paying attention to a healthy lifestyle and an appropriate diet.
What does the new regulation cover?
The regulation will apply to alcoholic beverages such as beer and winehowever, drinks and cocktails will be excluded from this obligation due to the difficulties in determining the precise alcohol content of these drinks.
Individual establishments (bars, restaurants) have specific recipes for the types of alcoholic beverages offered to consumers, based on which the final alcohol content in a given drink can be calculated. However, such a theoretical calculation does not mean that a given drink or cocktail will have exactly the same alcohol content. This results, for example, from different proportions of the ingredients used and the amount of ice used at the request of the final consumer in accordance with his preferences – it was argued in the regulatory impact assessment.
What else will change?
The Act also provides for: abolition of the need to provide a list of ingredients for drinks containing more than 1.2% alcohol“which are offered for sale to the final consumer or to mass caterers without packaging, or where such drinks are packaged on the sales premises at the request of the final consumer, or are packaged for immediate sale.”
The new regulations also specify in detail the conditions of use the term “tincture”with a view not only to better inform consumers, but also to protect the reputation of alcohol-based products manufactured in Poland.
These regulations are aimed at better informing consumers about the characteristics of the product, as well as protecting the reputation of this term referring to products traditionally produced in Poland based on ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, a distillate of agricultural origin or a spirit drink produced in the process of maceration of plant or fruit parts. – explained the Ministry of Agriculture.
