Beer must not be advertised as "wholesome"

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May 24, 2018 - Foods

Beer must not be advertised as "wholesome"

The Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe has ruled that brewers are not allowed to advertise beer as "wholesome."

The background was the case of a brewery that had claimed its beer as wholesome. The Verband Sozialer Wettbewerb from Berlin saw this as a violation of EU law and obtained a preliminary injunction against this claim. Now, the BGH in the final instance has dealt with the question of whether the term "wholesome" constitutes a health-related claim or not. The BGH concluded that it is not, as presented by the brewery, a "statement about general well-being" but actually a health-related claim.

Health-related claims are not permissible for alcoholic beverages with more than 1.2% alcohol by volume under the EU Health Claims Regulation. Therefore, advertising beer with the term "wholesome" is prohibited.

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