New European Wine Labelling and Packaging Legislation

New legislations are coming to the European packaging and labelling industry. It’s important that the new changes are known and that companies are prepared for very specific changes regarding labelling information, sustainable packaging productions and consumer education.

The European Union reform of Common Agricultural Policy (“CAP”), published on 6 December 2021, will enter into force on the 1st of January 2023. The plan will propose labelling alcoholic beverages with “mandatory indications” of their ingredients and nutritional contents.

New Label Regulation

The EU wine industry, unlike food, has not been previously required to list ingredients other than allergens on wine labels. The CAP has now changed the approach to the topic:

• Listing of ingredients causing allergies and intolerances must be on the label
• Labels cannot contain any other information with the aim of sales and marketing 
• No user data can be collected or tracked through the digital label

CAP Application

The CAP applies to the EU market’s products, whether produced in one of the EU Member States or imported from a third country, as well as to the wines produced in the EU and exported outside of the EU. The wine produced and labelled before 8 December 2023 can still be placed in the EU market until the end of stocks.

New French Packaging Regulation

The new French regulation involves all the companies, in every sector, which produce waste-generating products for consumers. 

The decree came into effect on May 1, 2022, but the requirements will come into force gradually, according to the company’s size. Products and packaging will enjoy a stock disposal period until the 1st of January 2023.

The decree is about the obligation to provide information on the environmental qualities and features of products and packaging  (depending on the respective category) on:

• Reparability
• Sustainability
• Re-use possibilities
• Incorporation of recycled material
• Use of renewable resources
• Compostability
• Recyclability
• The presence of hazardous substances, precious metals or rare earth
• Traceability
• The presence  of plastic microfibers

This information must be available by electronic means, labelling or any other proper tool. The format must be easily workable by an automated processing system in aggregate form.