Hi Al,
The EU directive permitted "supplementary units", provided that the size of the lettering was not more prominent that the equivalent metric units. The UK legislation actually went further than the EU directive in this respect in that it effectively prohibited the use of US units of volume (the use of the US fluid ounce is "tolerated" as it is sufficiently close to the imperial fluid ounce so as not to confuse the users). May I remind US readers that there are 16 US floz in a US pint, but 20 Imp floz in an Imp pint. About two years ago I noticed that a UK branch of Costco were selling olive oil in bottles that has both metric and US units of measure and I lodged a complaint with the British Trading Standards Office. I heard nothing, but when I checked the labels recently, I noticed that the US units of volume had disappeared. I suspect that the UK authorities had a "quiet word" with the Costco management (which is the British way of doing things). Martin From: Al Lawrence [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 25 October 2019 21:15 To: Martin Vlietstra; 'John Steele'; 'USMA List Server'; [email protected] Subject: Re: [USMA 1224] Re: Change in Liquor Labeling to Optional Non-metric? That is true for the EU The European Union directive 80/181/EEC, passed in 1979 requires that only metric units be used on products after 1989, which means US products with labels which include inch-pound units could not have been sold in the European Union. Full implementation of this law has been delayed several times but was scheduled to be reviewed again in 2019. If fully implemented US alcoholic beverages could not be sold in Europe unless labeled in metric units only. Al Lawrence _____ From: USMA <[email protected]> on behalf of Martin Vlietstra <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, October 25, 2019 12:26 PM To: 'John Steele' <[email protected]>; 'USMA List Server' <[email protected]>; [email protected] <[email protected]> Subject: [USMA 1224] Re: Change in Liquor Labeling to Optional Non-metric? Hi all, As I am not a US citizen, I cannot make a representation to the US authorities, but may I draw attention that the British Weights and Measures (Packaged Goods) Regulations 2006, Section 8(3) specifically prohibits any non-metric unit other than pounds, ounces, imperial gallons, quarts, pints and ounces (https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.legislation.gov.uk%2Fuksi%2F2006%2F659%2Fcontents%2Fmade&data=02%7C01%7Cusma%40lists.colostate.edu%7Ce46b64af40274fcdfa3a08d7598befa9%7Cafb58802ff7a4bb1ab21367ff2ecfc8b%7C0%7C0%7C637076329879746187&sdata=hw9Xv725jCW9mlz5clNyv%2B4ZbD%2FST8gOJ%2FDYzAEFyS4%3D&reserved=0 <https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.legis lation.gov.uk%2Fuksi%2F2006%2F659%2Fcontents%2Fmade&data=02%7C01%7Cusma%40li sts.colostate.edu%7C839242754fad4e1d25f808d759814239%7Cafb58802ff7a4bb1ab213 67ff2ecfc8b%7C0%7C0%7C637076284019603581&sdata=k4DFJMws0pqQ4karfCY68%2FW0%2B 8W1Bp9GrEQ6HqA%2B5uM%3D&reserved=0> ) to be used on package labelling. The use of US gallons, quarts, pints or fluid ounces on the labels of alcoholic beverages might well render the product ineligible for export to the United Kingdom. Regards Martin Vlietstra From: USMA [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of John Steele Sent: 25 October 2019 01:30 To: USMA List Server; [email protected] Subject: [USMA 1223] Re: Change in Liquor Labeling to Optional Non-metric? The rules for wine require metric net contents, but allow supplemental Customary at the moment (27 CFR 4.37b). TTB says in the proposals it allows supplemental Customary on spirits and supplemental metric on beer, but the rules don't explicitly say it. They would like to clarify. The rest of the proposal eliminates standard sizes and allows metric fill of any size for wine and spirits (any size Customary fill is currently allowed for beer.) I think the proliferation might get out of hand, but some of our standard sizes are not well coordinated with EU standard sizes (wines are better than spirits in this regard). At least a few additional sizes for better coordination with the EU may make sense. However, I'm not sure I care enough either way to submit comments. On Thursday, October 24, 2019, 6:39:49 PM EDT, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote: In the November-December 2020 "Metric Today," which will be disseminated shortly by our USMA President, it is reported: "The US Department of the Treasury, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (ATTB) is seeking public comment regarding the elimination of certain standards of fill for wine and distilled spirits as well as the amendment of malt beverage net contents labeling regulation. Under the proposals, wine and distilled spirits would require mandatory metric on all bottles and add optional US customary units." The change allows "optional US customary units" which are now prohibited. Did I get this right? Shouldn't we be pushing back hard on this backsliding proposal? Unfortunately, public comment ends very soon, on October 30, 2019. I have appended below the direct URL to get to the notice page. Once there, you can click the COMMENT NOW! button to enter your comment against this backsliding. Notice 182 and 183: https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.regula tions.gov%2FsearchResults%3Frpp%3D25%26po%3D0%26s%3Dnotice%252B182%26fp%3Dtr ue%26ns%3Dtrue <https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.regul ations.gov%2FsearchResults%3Frpp%3D25%26po%3D0%26s%3Dnotice%252B182%26fp%3Dt rue%26ns%3Dtrue&data=02%7C01%7Cusma%40lists.colostate.edu%7C839242754fad4e1d 25f808d759814239%7Cafb58802ff7a4bb1ab21367ff2ecfc8b%7C0%7C0%7C63707628401960 3581&sdata=gPTNkYT909Z3WCMQnDhyzogp%2BUcUICYPKguj3h%2FCYDE%3D&reserved=0> &data=02%7C01%7Cusma%40lists.colostate.edu%7C174ecadecd7e4238db7d08d758d30ce 9%7Cafb58802ff7a4bb1ab21367ff2ecfc8b%7C0%7C1%7C637075535802529496&sdata=pUHA AyAJ5tF4CNpB%2FerAoYxrY6eHfuoLAP6PuehsQME%3D&reserved=0 Could one of our knowledgeable writers could post here a brief template for a response that we each could modify for a personalized comment?. _______________________________________________ USMA mailing list [email protected] https://lists.colostate.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/usma
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