Legislative Decree 231/17 – which implements EU Regulation 1169/11 in Italy, in addition to the related sanctions – repeals the specific provisions already established by Legislative Decree 109/92 concerning various foods. (1) The case of Italian beer.
Italian beer, previous regulations
The historic ‘labeling decree’, Legislative Decree 109/92, in article 19, defined the quality criteria that the different types of Beer produced in Italy, in order to be marketed with their respective food denominations:
– ‘the denomination «non-alcoholic beer» is reserved for products with a Plato degree not less than 3 and not more than 8 and with a volumetric alcoholic strength not exceeding 1.2%,
– ‘the denomination «light beer» or «birra light» is reserved for products with a Plato degree not less than 5 and not more than 10.5 and a volumetric alcoholic strength higher than 1.2% and not exceeding 3.5%,
– the denomination «beer» is reserved for products with Plato degree exceeding 10.5 and volumetric alcoholic strength exceeding 3.5%; such product may be called «special beer» if the Plato degree is not less than 12.5 and «double malt beer» if the Plato degree is not less than 14.5,
– when fruit, fruit juices, flavors, or other characterizing food ingredients are added to the beer, the sales denomination is completed with the name of the characterizing substance’. (2)
Italian beer legislation has been the strictest worldwide to date, in prescribing quality levels – expressed in Plato degree, that is the saccharometric index expressing the amount of dry substance (malt) used in production – for every category of beverage.
Italian beer and European beers compared
The principle of free movement of goods, on whose basis the European Union was built, has always prevented Italy from imposing the prescribed quality requirements on Italian beer to beverages legally manufactured in other member countries (e.g. Austria, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands).
Italian beer producers have therefore suffered serious discrimination, finding themselves competing with foreign operators who could use the same denominations to sell beers of inferior quality. (3)
Italian beer, the new regulations
Legislative Decree 231/17 expressly repeals Legislative Decree 109/92, except for the provision regarding the obligation to cite the location of the establishment on the labels of food products made and sold in Italy.
The quality requirements of beers produced in Italy, previously established, therefore lapse. Likely resulting in the quality of the cheapest beer – the 'first price', in commercial jargon – being lowered, equal to the cheap foreign beer sold so far in the discount of the Bel Paese.
Italian beer production still maintains a leading position, in Europe and in the world, precisely in qualitative terms. And the reform certainly cannot affect the quality of the waters (first ingredient used), nor the brewing tradition that from Pedavena has set a standard in the old continent. Nor at all on the formidable growth of craft beers Made in Italy.
The Plato degree remains an essential indicator of beer quality, deserving to be indicated on the label – even on a voluntary basis – and understood by consumers to distinguish higher-value beverages.
Dario Dongo
Notes
(1) See Legislative Decree 231/17, article 30. As for the repeals of rules relating to milk, butter and stretched-curd cheeses (e.g. mozzarella) see articles https://www.foodagriculturerequirements.com/tmc-e-data-di-scadenza-del-latte-chiarimenti-dell-avvocato-dario-dongo e https://www.foodagriculturerequirements.com/mozzarella-sfusa-post-231-risponde-lavvocato-dario-dongo
(2) Cf. Legislative Decree 109/92, article 19, which replaces article 2 of law no. 1354/62, as already replaced by art. 2, DPR 272/1998
(3) With the aggravating factor that excise duties on beers produced in Italy are applied based on Plato degree rather than alcohol content. Consequently, for the same alcohol degrees, foreign producers have so far been able to produce beers with lower production and tax costs
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT – Food Times) and Égalité.
