Portman Group publishes guidance on responsible drinks labelling

Published: 19 August, 2011

Drinks industry watchdog the Portman Group has released details of how the trade will conform to its commitment to display responsible drinking information on labels by 2013.

The industry has already pledged, under the Government's Public Health Responsibility Deal agreed in March 2011, to show clear unit labelling, the recommended daily limits and a warning about drinking when pregnant. As well as these three compulsory elements, companies are encouraged to include a reference to the Drinkaware website and a message such as 'please drink responsibly'. The Portman Group will monitor and report publicly on the industry's progress, which will also be scrutinised by the Department of Health.

As a first step the Portman Group is contacting all companies who signed up to the labelling pledge, as well as those who have previously made commitments over health information on labels, asking them to reaffirm their labelling commitment. Compliance guidance, including examples of best practice labels, and the monitoring process have also been agreed with the Department of Health and are published today.

A database summarising the pledges, companies and brands involved will be published on the Portman Group's website at a later date.

Seymour Fortescue, chairman of the Portman Group, said: "The alcohol industry is firmly committed to providing consumers with information on labels which help them make informed drinking choices. This will be a challenging target but one that we are determined will be achieved. We will publish details of the pledges, companies and brands involved on our website to ensure the process is as open and transparent as possible. We will also appoint an independent third party to conduct the final monitoring exercise."

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