Conditions of use of particulars in labelling
Article 9: Conditions of use of particulars in labelling
Labelling indications must not be likely to cause confusion as to the product’s origin or the existence and/or capacity of the people or companies appearing in the presentation.
- Sales denomination
Sales denomination shall refer to one of the denominations indicated for spirituous beverages of vitivinicultural origin intended for direct human consumption included in part I, chapter 7 of the OIV International Code of Oenological Practices. This may be complemented or substituted by the name of a geographical indication or denomination of origin if the spirituous beverage of vitivinicultural origin in question has the right to make use of it. This could be the same for the generic denomination “spirituous beverage” possibly complemented by the nature of the raw material used.
Generic denominations of spirituous beverages of vitivinicultural origin intended for direct human consumption listed in part I, chapter 7 of the OIV International Code of Oenological Practices shall not be used in any way, or any reference be made to them in the labelling or presentation, if:
a) Neutral alcohol of agricultural or vitivinicultural origin, has been added.
b) Distillates of vitivinicultural origin that do not correspond to the definition of spirituous beverage of vitivinicultural origin according to the International Code of Oenological Practices have been added.
c) The minimum alcoholic strength required for the spirituous beverage of vitivinicultural origin in question has been reduced.
d) Production practices authorised by the OIV have not been implemented.
For mixtures of two or more spirituous beverages of vitivinicultural origin, where the final product does not relate to any of the definitions in part I, chapter 7 of the OIV International Code of Oenological Practices, the sales denomination shall be "Spirituous beverage". In the event that a spirituous beverage mix contains in its presentation one of the spirituous beverages defined by the OIV, the label shall obligatorily list the percentages, in descending order, expressed as pure alcohol, for each of the spirituous beverages used.
The labelling shall display the name, registered name or denomination of at least one of the operators involved in the manufacturing or commercialisation process:
- the manufacturer, or producer
- the packager, or
- a seller or importer
- and, in all cases, the address.
The name of the person responsible may be:
- the family name of the natural person,
- or the registered name of the company,
- or the commercial name of the company that takes responsibility for the product prepacked by themselves or on their behalf.
To avoid confusion about the origin of the product, the Member States shall decide on the necessary measures.
- Packaging ranges and nominal value
The nominal volume shall be written in figures and completed with the symbol or indication of all the letters of one of the following volume units:
- litre (l) or (L)
- centilitre (cl) or (cL)
- millilitre (ml) or (mL)
The volume therefore indicated can be followed by a particular referring to another system of measurement (for example, the imperial system), provided that this does not result in any confusion about the quantity presented to the consumer.
Spirituous beverages of vitivinicultural origin, when targeting the final consumer, may be introduced in packages of any nominal value in accordance with the rules in force in the consumer country.
The methods for actual volume control will be those defined in the specific ISO and OIML standards.
In international exchanges, the official or usual name of the country of provenance or origin should be mentioned.
The indication shall be presented through expressions such as "product of…" or "produced in…" complemented by the name of the country of origin.
- Acquired alcoholic strength
It must be displayed with the "%" symbol and with the words "volume", "vol.", or "vol" and may be followed by the words "alcohol", "alc.", or "alc".
The indication of acquired alcoholic strength expressed as a percentage of the product’s volume is obligatory on the labelling with a tolerance of ± 0.3% vol. according to the legislation of the producer country and/or consumer country.
- Batch
The labelling of spirituous beverages should have an indication (sign, letter, number, etc.) enabling the identification of the batch to which the product belongs, which is to be displayed so that it is easily visible, clearly legible and indelible.
The indication of the batch shall be determined and placed under the responsibility of one or more of the operators named in section 2, with special recommendations for handling the goods received by the packager.
It shall be preceded by the letter "L", except in cases where it is clearly distinguished from the other indications on the labelling.
The year of harvest may be indicated on the labelling of spirituous beverages of vitivinicultural origin and shall be considered to be the year when the grape harvest took place if all grapes are from the same harvest, which shall be indicated in the following manner: “Harvest … [Year]”.
The manufacturer, packager or, where appropriate, seller responsible shall provide evidence of the certainty of these indications for the authorities of the country of production or commercialisation.
- Distillation and production techniques
The labelling of spirituous beverages of vitivinicultural origin may display particulars related to special distillation or production techniques that may be of special interest to the consumer.
The person responsible shall provide evidence of the certainty of these indications to the authorities of the country of production or commercialisation.
- Recognised ageing particulars or ageing duration
Provided that a regulation defines the ageing conditions and their monitoring, an ageing particular or an ageing duration can only be used if the ageing period is longer than the minimum ageing period required for the standard product (which only bears the generic term as a sales denomination) and provided that it is controlled by an official body of the Member State.
In any case, in the event of a blend, ageing can only refer to the age of the youngest component.
However, in cases where an aging system is followed (as long as it is controlled by an official body belonging to a Member State), involving the carrying out of periodic samples and replenishments of fractions of the contents of the containers, in a manner that leads to assemblages and in order to continue the aging process, the aging period will be considered as the average time, and the aging system can be mentioned in the labelling.