The Portman Group, the industry's social responsibility body, is to monitor and report on the industry’s progress on the voluntary labelling pledge.
The pledge to provide responsible drinking information on 80 per cent of alcohol labels on UK shelves by 2013 was set out as part of the Government's controversial Responsibilty Deal earlier this year.
In a press release, the Portman Group said they would monitor and report publicly on the industry’s progress towards the labelling goal. They are contacting all companies who signed up to the pledge asking them to re-affirm their commitments. A database summarising the pledges, companies and brands involved will be published at a later date.
An Alcohol Labelling Compliance Guidelines and Monitoring Process document has also been published which identifies the five elements of the overall labelling scheme:
[Required]
- Unit alcohol content
- Chief Medical Officers’ daily guidelines for lower-risk consumption
- Pregnancy warning
[Optional]
- drinkaware.co.uk
- Responsibility statement (e.g. “please drink responsibly”)
The industry have attempted voluntary agreements to improve alcohol labelling in the past, but failed to make real progress. A 2010 independent report said just 15 per cent of drinks give consumers sufficient information as per the voluntary code, whereas an Alcohol Concern report Message on a Bottle put the figure at only 4% of the products reviewed.
See further reports in Marketing Week and the Morning Advertiser.
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