Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 579/2012
of 29 June 2012
amending Regulation (EC) No 607/2009 laying down certain detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 as regards protected designations of origin and geographical indications, traditional terms, labelling and presentation of certain wine sector products
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Whereas:
For beverages containing more than 1,2 % by volume of alcohol, the first subparagraph of Article 6(3a) of Directive 2000/13/EC provides for the obligation to label all ingredients defined in paragraph 4(a) of that Article and listed in Annex IIIa to that Directive.
It is therefore necessary to establish detailed rules for labelling these beverages, including a mention of the substances referred to in Annex IIIa to Directive 2000/13/EC and used when making the beverages, if their presence can be detected in the final product using the analysis methods referred to in Article 120g of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 and if they consequently must be considered ingredients within the meaning of Article 6(4)(a) of Directive 2000/13/EC.
In a multilingual context, labelling products using pictograms may improve the readability of the information provided to consumers and offer better guarantees for consumers. Therefore operators should be given the possibility of complementing written information with pictograms.
In order to prevent the new rules from affecting the marketing of products that are already labelled, it should be specified that they apply only to wines made completely or partially from grapes harvested in 2012 or later and labelled after 30 June 2012.
The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for the Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: