OnTap Magazine

SELL BY BATCH 03|2018 01|12|2018 INGREDIENTS KICK-ASS GRAPHICS | BEER NEWS NEW BEERS | BEER REVIEWS THIS MAG IS ADDICTIVE STORE AWAY FROM DIRECT SUNLIGHT BREWED BY INHOUSE PUBLICATIONS P.O. Box 412748 | Craighall | 2024 NOT FOR SALE TO PERSONS UNDER 18 CRAFTED Content ontapmag.co.za 210mm 0% ABV SPRING SAISON SELL BY BATCH 03|2018 01|12|2018 INGREDIENTS KICK-ASS GRAPHICS | BEER NEWS NEW BEERS | BEER REVIEWS THIS MAG IS ADDICTIVE PRODUCT OF SOUTH AFRICA STORE AWAY FROM DIRECT SUNLIGHT BREWED BY INHOUSE PUBLICATIONS P.O. Box 412748 | Craighall | 2024 NOT FOR SALE TO PERSONS UNDER 18 Should be on the packaging that is to be retained by the consumer until consumption (e.g. a bottle or can). You should be specific on what the date signifies – best before, use by, sell by or brewed on. It is quite shocking to see how many brands don’t include this information on their bottles, and sadly those that do sometimes find the dates are being fraudulently scratched off by some bottle store owners. According to section 12 of the regulation: “No person shall import, manufacture, sell, distribute, or donate a foodstuff unless a date marking is clearly indicated on the label or container of such foodstuff.” Furthermore the section specifies that the date marking may not be removed or altered by any person. This allows for ease of identification and traceability of the different batches – crucial if you get customer complaints about one of your beers and you need to work out which batch has a problem. Should include all ingredients used, listed in descending order of mass. The ingredients should be uniform in font, with no emphasis on a specific ingredient. Where an ingredient contains a “common allergen”, its presence shall be indicated e.g. Barley – (gluten) Mandatory if nutrient-related claims are made. This is for an example a lite or light beer (lite – low in calories; light – low in alcohol) or gluten-free beer – less than 20 ppm gluten) or non-alcoholic (< 0.5% ABV) or alcohol-free (< 0.05% ABV). Should you claim your product to be “premium”, “finest”, “quality”, “best”, “hand-crafted” or “real” as a manufacturer/brand owner you should be able to help consumers understand why such a claim is justified, i.e. what makes your beer premiumor best? This is the physical address of the manufacturer, packer, distributor or importer. You must be clear on which address is being used on the label – is it the manufacturer, importer, contract brewer or brand owner? or instruction for use. According to the R146 regulation, the manufacturer should specify the appropriate storage instructions, such as “store cold” or “store away from sunlight” . The instruction should be bold, in upper case and not less than 3mm in height. Unfortunately, there aremanywithinour industrywho feel such laws and regulations are only for big companies and are unnecessary admin and red tape for the smaller breweries. These regulations are in place to ensure that our consumers are well informed about the product they consume such that they make more informed choices. It is our duty as manufacturers/brand owners to comply to all the laws. We need to self-regulate as an industry before government comes and forces us to comply. NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION TABLE INGREDIENT LIST BATCH NUMBER DATE MARKING ™DD.MM.YYYY› STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS ADDRESS Health messages on container labels of alcoholic beverages are regulated under R746 of the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act. The purpose of this regulation is to inform consumers about the harm caused by alcohol abuse. The regulation calls for use of one of the below prescribed wording on all labels: Alcohol reduces driving ability, don't drink and drive. Don't drink and walk on the road, you may be killed. Alcohol increases your risk to personal injuries. Alcohol is a major cause of violence and crime. Alcohol abuse is dangerous to your health. Alcohol is addictive. Drinking during pregnancy can be harmful to your unborn baby. The regulation also states that the health message on the container must: Be visible, legible and indelible Be on a space specifically devoted for it which must be at least one eighth of the total size of the container Be in black on a white background Amendments to the R746 regulation were published in December 2017 and among other things called for the health messages to be exhibited with equal regularity to every other message, on each product line, within a three-year cycle. The liquor industry has been given three years to comply with these amendments. HEALTH MESSAGES ontapmag.co.za | Spring 2018 | 45