The appearance of alcoholic products should not refer to other goods, especially those intended for children, said the Minister of Agriculture, Czesław Siekierski, adding that his ministry has developed a draft of new regulations regulating this issue. This concerns the so-called alcotubes, i.e. alcohol sachets, which have recently gone on sale.
Siekierski told journalists on Wednesday that the planned regulations are intended to regulate the way food is labeled so that it does not mislead the consumer; they are also to determine in what form spirit drinks may be sold.
– The proposals (…) provide more discipline when it comes to preparing food labeling so that it does not mislead the consumer. There are also other proposals regarding the method of selling spirit products – in a specific form and packaging – explained the minister.
New alcohol labeling
When asked how alcoholic products should be labeled, the minister added that their appearance must not refer to other products, especially those intended for children, and the inscriptions regarding the product content “must be more clear.” The minister noted that such regulations are included in EU documents and Polish regulations, but so far they have not been clearly written down.
When asked when the new regulations will enter into force, Siekierski said that first, at the inter-ministerial level, i.e. with the participation of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance, a decision will be made whether it will be a regulation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development or a statutory solution, “so more important than the regulation of the minister itself.” agriculture.”
When asked about possible resignations in the Ministry of Agriculture, he noted that “he cannot answer this unequivocally, because there were no significant mistakes made by collaborators of the inspection or ministries.”
Breathing tube inspections in Poland
Siekierski reminded that the Agricultural and Food Quality Inspection is conducting a nationwide inspection on Wednesday inspections regarding labeling and packaging of alcotube products and where and how they are made available to consumers. – Per hour 12 of them (inspections – ed.) there were over 120 – informed the minister.
The head of the Ministry of Agriculture emphasized that although the manufacturer of alcotubes made the decision to… withdrawal product from the market, “we need to create a law to prevent such situations from happening again.” He assessed that the decision of the breathalyzer manufacturer to discontinue production is correct because it “meets the expectations of consumers and the government.”
Earlier on Wednesday, IJHARS announced that in connection with information about the appearance of alcohol sachets resembling tubes of fruit puree for children in the trade, the Chief Inspector of Commercial Quality of Agricultural and Food Products obliged the Inspection authorities to inspect the sale of this range of food products.
The inspection indicated that the issues of food labeling are regulated by a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU), which is authorized to be enforced by the official food control bodies in Poland – the Agricultural and Food Quality Inspection – in terms of quality parameters and the State Sanitary Inspection – in terms of properties. health or sanitation of food, including public health hazards.
“If the controlled products, through their description, presentation and labeling, are misleading as to the identity of the product, IJHARS inspectors will apply severe fines and will inform the relevant local government authorities issuing permits for retail trade in alcoholic beverages,” the press release noted.
IJHARS informed that regardless of the inspections carried out, “systemic solutions aimed at effectively counteracting and reducing the risk of repeating this practice in the future” have already been proposed.
“Alkotubki” withdrawn from stores
On Tuesday evening, OLV, the producer of the so-called sachets of alcoholic beverages under the Voodoo Monkey brand, informed PAP that withdraws the entire batch of products from the market and immediately stops their production.
“We regret that the Voodoo Monkey product, even though it was produced and marked in accordance with applicable regulations, aroused negative and unintended associations. Therefore, the management board of OLV decided to immediately withdraw the entire batch of products from the market and immediately stop production. We apologize for this situation,” the company wrote in a statement.
On Tuesday, Topaz, which has 70 retail outlets operating under its own brand and 60 franchise stores operating as Topaz Express, announced the immediate withdrawal of Voodoo Monkey products from sale in its stores. The POLOmarket chain also withdrew from sales. “We have withdrawn the mentioned products from sale with immediate effect,” the company said on Wednesday.
The media recently reported on the sale of alcoholic beverages in soft packaging resembling fruit mousses under the Voodoo Monkey brand. After the case was publicized, the Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced the search for a method that will “block the practice of alcohol sachets.”
Chief Sanitary Inspector Paweł Grzesiowski announced that inspectors will inspect plants producing alcohol sachets and stores selling them, justifying this, among others: risk of confusion with children's products due to similar packaging.
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