Regulation (EU) 2019/787 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the definition, description, presentation and labelling of spirit drinks, the use of the names of spirit drinks in the presentation and labelling of other foodstuffs, the protection of geographical indications for spirit drinks, the use of ethyl alcohol and distillates of agricultural origin in alcoholic beverages, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 110/2008

CHAPTER I

SCOPE, DEFINITIONS AND CATEGORIES OF SPIRIT DRINKS

Article 1

Subject matter and scope

This Regulation lays down rules on:

— the definition, description, presentation and labelling of spirit drinks, as well as on the protection of geographical indications of spirit drinks;

— the ethyl alcohol and distillates used in the production of alcoholic beverages; and

— the use of legal names of spirit drinks in the presentation and labelling of foodstuffs other than spirit drinks.

Article 2

Definition of and requirements for spirit drinks

For the purposes of this Regulation, a spirit drink is an alcoholic beverage which complies with the following requirements:

(a) it is intended for human consumption;

(b) it possesses particular organoleptic qualities;

(c) it has a minimum alcoholic strength by volume of 15 %, except in the case of spirit drinks that comply with the requirements of category 39 of Annex I;

(d) it has been produced either: (i) directly by using, individually or in combination, any of the following methods: — distillation, with or without added flavourings or flavouring foodstuffs, of fermented products, — the maceration or similar processing of plant materials in ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, distillates of agricultural origin or spirit drinks or a combination thereof, — the addition, individually or in combination, to ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, distillates of agricultural origin or spirit drinks of any of the following: — flavourings used in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008, — colours used in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, — other authorised ingredients used in accordance with Regulations (EC) No 1333/2008 and (EC) No 1334/2008, — sweetening products, — other agricultural products, — foodstuffs; or (ii) by adding, individually or in combination, to it any of the following: — other spirit drinks, — ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, — distillates of agricultural origin, — other foodstuffs;

(e) it does not fall within CN codes 2203 , 2204 , 2205 , 2206 and 2207 ;

(f) if water, which may be distilled, demineralised, permuted or softened, has been added in its production: (i) the quality of that water complies with Council Directive 98/83/EC (¹) and Directive 2009/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (²); and (ii) the alcoholic strength of the spirit drink, after the addition of the water, still complies with the minimum alcoholic strength by volume provided for in point (c) of this Article or under the relevant category of spirit drinks as set out in Annex I.

Article 3

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:

(1) ‘legal name’ means the name under which a spirit drink is placed on the market, within the meaning of point (n) of Article 2(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011;

(2) ‘compound term’ means, in relation to the description, presentation and labelling of an alcoholic beverage, the combination of either a legal name provided for in the categories of spirit drinks set out in Annex I or the geographical indication for a spirit drink, from which all the alcohol of the final product originates, with one or more of the following: (a) the name of one or more foodstuffs other than an alcoholic beverage and other than foodstuffs used for the production of that spirit drink in accordance with Annex I, or adjectives deriving from those names; (b) the term ‘liqueur’ or ‘cream’;

(3) ‘allusion’ means the direct or indirect reference to one or more legal names provided for in the categories of spirit drinks set out in Annex I or to one or more geographical indications for spirit drinks, other than a reference in a compound term or in a list of ingredients as referred to in Article 13(2) to (4) in the description, presentation and labelling of: (a) a foodstuff other than a spirit drink, (b) a spirit drink that complies with the requirements of categories 33 to 40 of Annex I, or (c) a spirit drink that complies with the conditions laid down in Article 12(3a);

(4) ‘geographical indication’ means an indication which identifies a spirit drink as originating in the territory of a country, or a region or locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of that spirit drink is essentially attributable to its geographical origin;

(5) ‘product specification’ means a file attached to the application for the protection of a geographical indication, in which the specifications with which the spirit drink has to comply are set out, and which was referred to as a ‘technical file’ under Regulation (EC) No 110/2008;

(8) ‘visual field’ means field of vision as defined in point (k) of Article 2(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011;

(9) ‘to mix’ means to combine a spirit drink that either belongs to a category of spirit drinks set out in Annex I or to a geographical indication with one or more of the following: (a) other spirit drinks which do not belong to the same category of spirit drinks set out in Annex I; (b) distillates of agricultural origin; (c) ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin;

(10) ‘mixture’ means a spirit drink that has undergone mixing;

(11) ‘to blend’ means to combine two or more spirit drinks of the same category that are distinguishable only by minor differences in composition due to one or more of the following factors: (a) the method of production; (b) the stills employed; (c) the period of maturation or ageing; (d) the geographical area of production; the spirit drink so produced belongs to the same category of spirit drinks as the original spirit drinks before blending;

(12) ‘blend’ means a spirit drink that has undergone blending.

Article 4

Technical definitions and requirements

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following technical definitions and requirements apply:

(1) ‘description’ means the terms used in the labelling, in the presentation and on the packaging of a spirit drink, on the documents accompanying the transport of a spirit drink, on the commercial documents, particularly the invoices and delivery notes, and in the advertising of a spirit drink;

(2) ‘presentation’ means the terms used in the labelling and on the packaging, as well as in advertising and sales promotion of a product, in images or such like, as well as on the container, including on the bottle or the closure;

(3) ‘labelling’ means any word, particulars, trade marks, brand name, pictorial matter or symbol relating to a product and placed on any packaging, document, notice, label, ring or collar accompanying or referring to such product;

(4) ‘label’ means any tag, brand, mark, pictorial or other descriptive matter, written, printed, stencilled, marked, embossed or impressed on, or attached to the packaging or container of food;

(5) ‘packaging’ means the protective wrappings, cartons, cases, containers and bottles used in the transport or sale of spirit drinks;

(6) ‘distillation’ means a thermal separation process involving one or more separation steps intended to achieve certain organoleptic properties or a higher alcoholic concentration or both, regardless of whether such steps take place under normal pressure or under vacuum, due to the distilling device used; and can be single or multiple distillation or re-distillation;

(7) ‘distillate of agricultural origin’ means an alcoholic liquid which is the result of the distillation, after alcoholic fermentation, of agricultural products listed in Annex I to the Treaty, which does not have the properties of ethyl alcohol and which retains the aroma and taste of the raw materials used;

(8) ‘to sweeten’ means to use one or more sweetening products in the production of spirit drinks;

(9) ‘sweetening products’ means: (a) semi-white sugar, white sugar, extra-white sugar, dextrose, fructose, glucose syrup, sugar solution, invert sugar solution and invert sugar syrup, as defined in Part A of the Annex to Council Directive 2001/111/EC (³); (b) rectified concentrated grape must, concentrated grape must and fresh grape must; (c) burned sugar which is the product obtained exclusively from the controlled heating of sucrose without bases, mineral acids or other chemical additives; (d) honey as defined in point 1 of Annex I to Council Directive 2001/110/EC (⁴); (e) carob syrup; (f) any other natural carbohydrate substances having a similar effect as the products referred to in points (a) to (e);

(10) ‘addition of alcohol’ means the addition of ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin or distillates of agricultural origin or both to a spirit drink; such addition does not include the use of alcohol for dilution or dissolution of colours, flavourings or any other authorised ingredients used in the production of spirit drinks;

(11) ‘maturation’ or ‘ageing’ means the storage of a spirit drink in appropriate receptacles for a period of time for the purpose of allowing that spirit drink to undergo natural reactions that impart specific characteristics to that spirit drink;

(12) ‘to flavour’ means to add flavourings or flavouring foodstuffs in the production of a spirit drink by means of one or more of the following processes: addition, infusion, maceration, alcoholic fermentation, or distillation of alcohol in the presence of the flavourings or flavouring foodstuffs;

(13) ‘flavourings’ mean flavourings as defined in point (a) of Article 3(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008;

(14) ‘flavouring substance’ means flavouring substance as defined in point (b) of Article 3(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008;

(15) ‘natural flavouring substance’ means natural flavouring substance as defined in point (c) of Article 3(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008;

(16) ‘flavouring preparation’ means flavouring preparation as defined in point (d) of Article 3(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008;

(17) ‘other flavouring’ means other flavouring as defined in point (h) of Article 3(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008;

(18) ‘flavouring foodstuffs’ mean foodstuffs as defined in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council (⁵) and that are used in the production of spirit drinks with the main purpose of flavouring the spirit drinks;

(19) ‘to colour’ means to use one or more colours in the production of a spirit drink;

(20) ‘colours’ mean colours as defined in point 2 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008;

(21) ‘caramel’ means a food additive corresponding to E-numbers E 150a, E 150b, E 150c or E 150d and relating to products of a more or less intense brown colour which are intended for colouring, as referred to in Part B of Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008; it does not correspond to the sugary aromatic product obtained from heating sugars and which is used for flavouring purposes;

(22) ‘other authorised ingredients’ means food ingredients with flavouring properties authorised under Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008 and food additives other than colours authorised under Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008;

(23) ‘alcoholic strength by volume’ means the ratio of the volume of pure alcohol present in a product at 20 ^oC to the total volume of that product at the same temperature;

(24) ‘volatile substances content’ means the quantity of volatile substances, other than ethyl alcohol and methanol, contained in a spirit drink produced exclusively by distillation.

Article 5

Definition of and requirements for ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin

For the purposes of this Regulation, ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin is a liquid which complies with the following requirements:

(a) it has been obtained through alcoholic fermentation, followed by distillation exclusively of agricultural products listed in Annex I to the Treaty;

(b) it has no detectable taste other than that of the raw materials used in its production;

(c) its minimum alcoholic strength by volume is 96,0 %;

(d) its maximum levels of residues do not exceed the following: (i) ethyl acetate: 1,3 grams per hectolitre of 100 % vol. alcohol; (ii) acetaldehyde (sum of ethanal and 1,1-diethoxyethane): 0,5 grams per hectolitre of 100 % vol. alcohol; (iii) higher alcohols (sum of: propan-1-ol, butan-1-ol, butan-2-ol, 2- methylpropan-1-ol, 2-methylbutan- 1-ol and 3-methylbutan-1-ol): 0,5 grams per hectolitre of 100 % vol. alcohol; (iv) methanol: 30 grams per hectolitre of 100 % vol. alcohol; (v) furfural: 0,5 grams per hectolitre of 100 % vol. alcohol.

Article 6

Ethyl alcohol and distillates used in alcoholic beverages

Article 7

Categories of spirit drinks

Without prejudice to the specific rules laid down for each of the categories of spirit drinks 1 to 14 of Annex I, the spirit drinks of those categories shall:

(a) be produced by alcoholic fermentation and distillation, and exclusively obtained from the raw material provided for under the corresponding category of spirit drinks in Annex I;

(b) have no addition of alcohol, whether diluted or not;

(c) not be flavoured;

(d) not be coloured with anything except caramel used exclusively for adjusting the colour of those spirit drinks;

(e) not be sweetened, except to round off the final taste of the product; the maximum content of sweetening products, expressed as invert sugar, shall not exceed the thresholds set out for each category in Annex I;

(f) not contain adjuncts other than whole unprocessed items of the raw material from which the alcohol is obtained, and which are mainly used for decorative purposes.

Without prejudice to the specific rules laid down for each of the categories of spirit drinks 15 to 44 of Annex I, the spirit drinks of those categories may:

(a) be produced from any agricultural raw material listed in Annex I to the Treaty;

(b) have addition of alcohol;

(c) contain flavouring substances, natural flavouring substances, flavouring preparations and flavouring foodstuffs;

(d) be coloured;

(e) be sweetened.

Without prejudice to the specific rules laid down in Annex II, spirit drinks which do not comply with the specific rules laid down for each of the categories set out in Annex I may:

(a) be produced from any agricultural raw material listed in Annex I to the Treaty or from any foodstuff or both;

(b) have addition of alcohol;

(c) be flavoured;

(d) be coloured;

(e) be sweetened.

Article 8

Delegated and implementing powers

The delegated acts referred to in the first subparagraph shall be strictly limited to meeting demonstrated needs resulting from evolving consumer demands, technological progress or the need for product innovation.

The Commission shall adopt a separate delegated act in respect of each technical definition or requirement referred to in the first subparagraph.

CHAPTER II

DESCRIPTION, PRESENTATION AND LABELLING OF SPIRIT DRINKS AND USE OF THE NAMES OF SPIRIT DRINKS IN THE PRESENTATION AND LABELLING OF OTHER FOODSTUFFS

Article 9

Presentation and labelling

Spirit drinks placed on the Union market shall comply with the presentation and labelling requirements set out in Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, unless otherwise provided for in this Regulation.

Article 10

Legal names of spirit drinks

Spirit drinks shall bear legal names in their description, presentation and labelling.

Legal names shall be shown clearly and visibly on the label of the spirit drink and shall not be replaced or altered.

Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, the legal name of a spirit drink may be:

(a) supplemented or replaced by a geographical indication referred to in Chapter III. In this case, the geographical indication may be supplemented further by any term permitted by the relevant product specification, provided that this does not mislead the consumer; and

(b) replaced by a compound term that includes the term ‘liqueur’ or ‘cream’, provided that the final product complies with the requirements of category 33 of Annex I.

Without prejudice to Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 and to the specific rules laid down for the categories of spirit drinks in Annex I to this Regulation, the legal name of a spirit drink may be supplemented by:

(a) a name or geographical reference provided for in the laws, regulations and administrative provisions applicable in the Member State in which the spirit drink is placed on the market, provided that this does not mislead the consumer;

(b) a customary name as defined in point (o) of Article 2(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, provided that this does not mislead the consumer;

(c) a compound term or an allusion in accordance with Articles 11 and 12;

(d) the term ‘blend’, ‘blending’ or ‘blended’, provided that the spirit drink has undergone blending;

(e) the term ‘mixture’, ‘mixed’ or ‘mixed spirit drink’, provided that the spirit drink has undergone mixing; or

(f) the term ‘dry’ or ‘dry’, except in the case of spirit drinks that comply with the requirements of category 2 of Annex I, without prejudice to the specific requirements laid down in categories 20 to 22 of Annex I, and provided that the spirit drink has not been sweetened, not even for rounding off the taste. By way of derogation from the first part of this point, the term ‘dry’ or ‘dry’ may supplement the legal name of spirit drinks that comply with the requirements of category 33 and have therefore been sweetened.

Without prejudice to Article 12(1), flavourings that imitate a spirit drink or their use in the production of a foodstuff other than a beverage may bear, in their presentation and labelling, references to the legal names referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, provided that such legal names are supplemented by the term ‘flavour’ or any other similar terms. Geographical indications shall not be used to describe such flavourings.

Article 11

Compound terms

In the description, presentation and labelling of an alcoholic beverage, the use in a compound term of either a legal name provided for in the categories of spirit drinks set out in Annex I or a geographical indication for spirit drinks shall be authorised on condition that:

(a) the alcohol used in the production of the alcoholic beverage originates exclusively from the spirit drink referred to in the compound term, except for the alcohol that may be present in flavourings, colours or other authorised ingredients used for the production of that alcoholic beverage; and

(b) the spirit drink has not been diluted by addition of water only, so that its alcoholic strength is below the minimum strength provided for under the relevant category of spirit drinks set out in Annex I.

Compound terms describing an alcoholic beverage shall:

(a) appear in uniform characters of the same font, size and colour;

(b) not be interrupted by any textual or pictorial element which does not form part of them;

(c) not appear in a font size which is larger than the font size used for the name of the alcoholic beverage; and