New environmental labelling is also on the way for wine: how to comply?

What does the agreement between U-Label and Giunko envisage

From  January 1, 2023, as a matter of fact, the specifications on the nature of the packaging materials and their disposal must be reported on wine bottles, with the possibility of doing so via electronic label. In this direction, U-Label, the European platform for wines and spirits, has announced its partnership with Italian app Giunko. Practically, a single QR code will be enough to access not only information on disposal (provided by Giunko), but also nutritional information (provided by U-Label). And, since in Italy the rules on separate waste collection change from city to city, the QR code will provide geo-localised information for each product, in order to share the correct information, everywhere.

A further step towards simplification

The partnership - with the consequent simplification - was welcomed with satisfaction by the Italian associations of the sector. "Since the implementation of the environmental labelling rule, we have asked national authorities to open up to this innovation to make life easier for businesses and we have found it useful to offer a single digital tool to businesses, through U-Label, to respond to two important changes regulations through a single QR Code" underlined the general secretary of the Unione Italiana Vini Paolo Castelletti. "The partnership between U-label and Giunko embodies the sector's commitment to correct and transparent communication, placing it at the forefront of the agri-food industry" added Vittorio Cino, general manager of Federvini.

Italy becomes an example to follow

The rest of Europe is also appreciating the integrated solution and requests for the Commission to follow the example of Italy. "For the first time, consumers can benefit from an integrated digital labelling solution that provides both information on a product's nutritional content and ingredients, as well as personalised information on recycled content, proper disposal and potential reuse of used packaging materials," Ceev Secretary General Ignacio Sanchez Recarte said. "We call on EU member states to follow Italy's lead and allow the use of digital labelling solutions to provide consumers with specific information on packaging and proper packaging disposal" concluded spirits EUROPE director general Ulrich Adam.

by Loredana Sottile