Alcohol-free is not always alcohol-free, the industry wants clearer rules

• Tessa Neijland

  editor Domestic

If you want to buy a non-alcoholic drink in the supermarket or in the pub, you have plenty to choose from. But not every bottle of beer or wine sold as non-alcoholic actually contains no alcohol. If you look at the label, you will see that it often contains a small amount of alcohol. This is allowed according to European guidelines, but trade associations for Dutch brewers find this confusing.

In the Netherlands, beer can be called alcohol-free if it contains up to 0.1 percent alcohol, while for wine this is 0.5 percent. Above that, up to 1.2 percent, it is called low-alcohol.

But different rules apply in the rest of Europe. In Germany and Belgium, drinks can be called alcohol-free with a percentage of up to 0.5, in Spain up to 1 percent and in Italy and France even up to 1.2 percent. These products are also sold in the Netherlands, which means that in supermarkets there is ‘alcohol-free’ beer with more than one percent alcohol in it.

In addition, the rule applies throughout Europe that drinks with an alcohol content of up to 0.5 percent non-alcoholic may be called. There are Dutch brewers who opt for that English term on the label of beers with 0.4 percent, because the Dutch ‘alcohol-free’ is not allowed. Then you drink ‘non-alcoholic’ beer that is not ‘alcohol-free’.

“Misleading,” says Anne Lutgerink of the Nutrition Center. “It is very annoying, especially for people who really don’t want to drink alcohol. You make a certain suggestion and it is not correct, that is confusing.”

Trade associations for brewers in the Netherlands do not find it misleading, but they understand that it is confusing. “Everything is allowed and the brewers adhere to the rules, but it is unclear for the consumer,” acknowledges chairman Jos Oostendorp of Craft, a trade association of 200 small beer breweries. “There are people who really don’t want to drink a drop, because they are allergic to alcohol or for other reasons. Everyone has an interest in knowing what is in it.”

Director Meint Waterlander of Nederlandse Brouwers, which represents thirteen breweries, agrees. “It would be good for the consumer if there was more unity in the labels.”

To create more unity, discussions are being held with other brewers’ associations in Europe, says Oostendorp. “This theme is also on the agenda. It just cannot be arranged overnight.” According to him, beer country Germany is not very keen on introducing stricter or different rules for its brewers. “But I expect it can make a difference in the long term.”

The associations are also committed to clearer European rules, because the rules are now unfair, says Oostendorp. “Foreign beers are allowed to be on the shelves in the Netherlands with labels that are not permitted in the Netherlands. That is unfair competition.”

In response to questions from NOS, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport will ask the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) to look at terms such as non-alcoholic on Dutch products. The NVWA assesses whether labels are misleading. Depending on how often this occurs, the ministry can assess whether (and how) something should be done.

Because there are no rules for foreign language terms yet. As long as the label also states in Dutch how much alcohol is in such an ‘alcohol-free’ drink, it is allowed.

“An alcohol volume of up to 0.5 percent can be caused by residual traces of the fermentation of natural sugars. For example, orange juice or baked bread can contain up to 0.2 percent alcohol,” says a ministry spokesperson. “If you are not allowed or do not want to drink alcohol, look at the alcohol percentage and choose an alternative that says 0.0. This way you can be sure that it does not contain alcohol.”