A changing framework
Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers (FIC) exempts alcoholic beverages above 1.2% abv from the mandatory indication of the list of ingredients and the nutrition declaration.
However, the EU wine sector has proactively advocate for the adoption of new mandatory labelling rules to respond to consumers expectations and increase transparency while harmonising an adapted communication on wines and aromatised wine products.
New rules : consumer information goes digital
The EU wine sector’s request materialised in the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) legal package, which, for the first time ever in the food sector, allows mandatory information to be communicated digitally (through e-labels) for wines and aromatized wine products.
Since 8 December 2023, all wines and aromatised wine products commercialised in the EU, regardless of their origin, must communicate the list of ingredients and the full nutrition declaration on-label or, under certain conditions, online.
CEEV's commitment
Conscious of the challenge it represented for wine companies to jump into digital communication, CEEV, together with spiritsEUROPE and a specialized IT company, created a digital platform called U-label, designed to support wine and spirits companies in their journey towards the digitalization of consumer information through the generation of e-labels.
Operational since 2021, the U-label platform offered, from the very early days, a secured and trusted environment that allowed companies to easily start building their digital information strategy and provide clear, relevant and accurate information to their consumers. The unique features of the U-label platform made it considerably easier for companies to embark on this digital journey:
- Adaptability : Content of the e-labels can be modified at any time and is instantly adapted on all products, in real time.
- Translation : Automatic translation of all structured and regulatory information into the 24 official EU languages
- Expertise : Integrated expertise on EU legal requirements for wine, aromatised wine and spirits products labelling
- Autonomy : Complete autonomy for companies to create new e-labels and manage existing ones.
In March 2024, U-label has joined forces with Scantrust, a leading company active in QR code technology, to propose a new upgraded version of the platform now called “U-label by Scantrust”. The U-label by Scantrust platform is continuously updated and improved, in close collaboration with CEEV, to ensure full compliance with the EU legislation and cover, when possible, also national regulation (cf. Italian and Spanish recycling labelling requirements).
