Alleanza Cooperative is concerned about health warnings on labels and the European Union approach

“We must express our deep concern regarding the actions that the European Union intends to implement in the near future. These include the European plan to fight cancer that the European Commission presented, which will have effects on the policy of promoting alcoholic beverages, and the simplistic and incomplete evaluation methods such as Nutriscore. In this period, there are actually too many elements that could damage the sector”, stated Luca Rigotti, Coordinator of the Wine Sector of the Agro-food Cooperative Alliance, at “Vinitaly Special Edition” 2021. Rigotti continued, “we accept the indisputable support for the purposes of the European plan and the absolute need to protect the health of European citizens, but we believe that first of all, it is necessary to promote correct consumer education, which must underline the moderate and conscious consumption of wine. Furthermore, it is equally necessary to work to reach positions of equilibrium”.
Rigotti believes that this concept must be reiterated, considering that the European Parliament has established a special Commission and has recently presented a report on the subject, which, besides many other indications, promotes a warning labeling for alcoholic beverages, including wines.
The Agro-food Cooperative Alliance (Alleanza cooperative agroalimentari) was keen to highlight that the wine sector has been committed for quite some time to a path of regulatory adaptation. For example, in the field of environmental sustainability the Cooperative’s model is at the forefront, as well as providing the list of ingredients and nutritional information on the label, which are goals indicated in the European plan to fight cancer, and which are also addressed in the context of the post-2020 CAP.
The Wine Coordinator of the Alliance continued, saying, “the wine cooperative emphasizes the difference between excessive and therefore, harmful, consumption of alcoholic beverages, and moderate consumption of wine to be drunk at meals. And even though it would like to express its opposition to the hypothesis of indicating health warnings on the label, totally agrees with the appeal to enhance prevention and protect the health of consumers. However, we are still convinced that adopting a healthy, balanced and time-tested diet, like the Mediterranean one, which in 2010 was included on the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and of which wine is an integral part, is one of the best ways to stay healthy”.