News

2nd July 2003

British beer saved from fishy future
Joint Press Statements from John Bowis MEP and Phillip Whitehead MEP:

British MEPs have welcomed moves to save British brewers having to label their beer "contains fish products". Proposed European legislation to improve labelling of foodstuffs and highlight allergenic ingredients threatened the use of isinglass, a fish product used in wine and beer production, despite centuries of use with not a single known case of an allergic reaction. The European Parliament today accepted a compromise amendment brokered by John Bowis MEP (Conservative) and Phillip Whitehead MEP (Labour) which will exempt isinglass.

Speaking in Strasbourg today, John Bowis and Phillip Whitehead commented:

"We are delighted that common sense has prevailed. Labelling a product as allergenic when there is no scientific evidence to support this claim would mislead consumers and unnecessarily reduce the choice of allergy sufferers. We have worked closely with the Rapporteur, the brewing industry and the Commission to secure a text which would ensure that isinglass can continue to be used as it has for centuries, while strengthening protection for the health of consumers.

"It would be a misuse of labelling to condemn wine and beer because of an agent used in the production process, but not in the final product, which has never harmed anyone."

The European Commission proposal on labelling of ingredients in foodstuffs would have required products derived from allergens to be labelled. Isinglass is derived from the swim-bladders of certain fish from tropical waters. It is added to beer to remove haze and leave it clear by aiding sedimentation and filtration. Breweries could only change their brewing process at great expense, and a change in clarifying agent could have forced many micro-breweries out of business. In the case of bitter, there is no alternative to using isinglass in clarifying beer.