Asked about the Irish plan to label alcohol bottles to warn consumers about the carcinogenic potential of these drinks, Stefan De Keersmaecker, European Commission spokesperson for Health, Food Safety and Regional Policy, stressed that “harmful alcohol consumption” was a public health concern and that one of the Commission’s priorities in its cancer plan (see EUROPE 12650/1) was to reduce hazardous alcohol consumption in Europe by 10% by 2025.
Mr De Keersmaecker said that the European Commission had received Ireland’s notification of the project. This notification was submitted under two different regulations: the Single Market Transparency Directive (EU/2015/1535) and the Regulation on the provision of food information to consumers (EU/1169/2011).
Mr De Keersmaecker said that the Commission had not issued a formal reaction or an adverse opinion relating to the Irish project.
He mentioned that the Commission had announced in the “Farm to Fork” strategy and the “Europe against Cancer” plan that it was working on a revision of the regulation on food information for consumers, to empower consumers to make informed choices in favour of healthy and sustainable food.
To this end, technical work is underway to develop an impact assessment. This assessment will be based on scientific data from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the Commission’s Joint Research Centre and the relevant public consultation.
A WHO study pointed out that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption (see EUROPE 12891/15).
More info: https://aeur.eu/f/50p (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)