Commencement

This Order shall come into force on the 1st day of October, MADE by the Minister of Finance, this 20th day of August, 2007. (SAID W. MUSA) Minister of Finance Minister responsible for Bureau of Standards 125 SCHEDULE [Paragraph 2] BELIZE NATIONAL STANDARD BZS1: Part 5: 2007 BELIZE NATIONAL STANDARD SPECIFICATION FOR LABELLING OF BREWERY PRODUCTS (BEER, STOUT, SHANDY, MALTA) BBS BELIZE BUREAU OF STANDARDS Government Complex Building P.O. Box 1647 Belize City, Belize CENTRAL AMERICA 126 Standards 0. FOREWORD 0.1 This standard has been prepared through the Caribbean Common Market Standards Council (CCMSC) to set the requirements for the labelling of brewery products that are manufactured or traded within the Caribbean Community. It was prepared by the CCMSC on 96-06-23 and approved by the Council of Ministers on 98-02-03. 0.2 Brewery products that conform to the requirements of this standard and that are manufactured under an approved system of quality assurance are eligible to use the CARICOM Standard Mark that is administered by the CCMSC. 0.3 Beer, stout and other brewery products are produced in many of the countries of the Caribbean Community and trade within the Region is increasing. This standard is intended to ensure that the labelling of these products meets the requirements of regulatory authorities and will enable brewers to compete against products from outside the Region. 0.4 At present brewery products are packed in containers whose sizes and quantities vary from country to country within the Region according to differing legal requirements or established practices. It is expected that this standard will assist in the harmonization of these practices in the near future. 0.5 This Standard is adopted from the Caribbean Community Standard Requirements for Labelling: Labelling of Brewery Products (Beer, Stout, Shandy, Malta), approved by the Caribbean Community Council of Ministers for implementation as a regional mandatory standard with effect from February 02, 1998. 1.0 SCOPE 1.1 This standard specifies requirements for labelling of brewery products to be sold in the Caribbean Common Market. Standards 127 1.2 It does not cover beverages sold under common names, including the words “beer” and “ale”, that are not derived from cereals (for example, ginger beer, ginger ale, root beer). 2.0 DEFINITIONS For the purposes of this standard, the following definitions shall apply: 2.1 Brewery Products include beverages derived from cereals that are manufactured and sold under the following common names– (a) ale; (b) beer; (c) lager, or lager beer; (d) malta; (e) malt liquor; (f) shandy; (g) stout, (or porter). 2.2 Ale, Stout, Porter, Malt Liquor means a beverage produced by the alcoholic fermentation by yeast (Saccharomyces Cerevisiae) prepared from potable water, malted barley, wheat, hops or hops extract, with or without other added ingredients and shall be brewed in such a manner as to have the aroma, flavour, and other characteristics that are commonly recognized in ale, stout, porter or malt liquor. 2.3 Beer means a beverage produced by the alcoholic fermentation by yeast (S. Cerevisiae) of a wort prepared from malted barley, wheat or other cereal, hops or with or without other added ingredients and shall be brewed in such a manner as to have the aroma, flavour and other characteristics that are commonly recognized in beer. 2.4 Lager Beer means a beer fermented by yeast (S. Cerevisiae or Carisbergensis) which has been stored in the 128 Standards cold during clarification and maturation, and brewed in such a manner as to have the aroma, flavour and other characteristics that are commonly recognized in lager beer. 2.5 Malta means a beverage produced by combining wort, sugar, hops, and carbon dioxide, to which yeast flavour may be added, which has the aroma, flavour and other characteristics that are commonly recognized in malta. 2.6 Milk Stout means a stout, which includes lactose (or other sugar sweetener), added after fermentation. 2.7 Shandy means a beverage made by mixing beer or lager beer with a carbonated beverage, a fruit or vegetable juice or extract, sugar, carbon dioxide, potable water. 2.8 Alcoholic content means the percentage of ethanol (ethyl alcohol) in terms of volume at 15.56°C (60°F) contained in the brewery product and measured by a method included or mentioned in the standard for Brewery Products1. 3.0 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS 3.1 The common names listed in column 1(Common Names) of Table 1 shall be used to describe brewery products which have alcoholic content in the ranges set out in column 2 (Range of Alcohol Content by Volume). TABLE 1 Common Names Range of Alcohol Content by Volume (%) Extra light Ale/Beer/Shandy/Porter 1.1 – 2.5 Light Ale/Beer/Stout/Porter Over 2.5 – 4.0 Strong Ale/Beer/Stout/Porter/Malt Liquor Over 5.5 – 8.5 Extra Strong Ale/Beer/Stout/Porter/Malt Liquor Over 8.5 Standards 129 3.1.1 Shandy shall have not more than 1.6 % alcohol by volume. 3.1.2 Malta shall have no detectable alcoholic content. 4.0 LABELLING REQUIREMENTS 4.1 Retail containers of brewery products shall be labelled with information on the English language, clearly and prominently displayed, and readily discernible under customary conditions of sale and use. Information presented in other languages shall be clearly separated from that in English. 4.2 The information on the label shall include– (a) the common name of the brewery product in accordance with the definitions in Sections 2 and Section 3.1 as applicable; (b) any brand name or trade name; (c) the legal name of the manufacturer or brewer, together with an adequate postal or registered office address; (d) the name of the person controlling the trade name or brand name, if different from the person mentioned in (c), together with an indication of his address; (e) the name of the country of origin; (f) a declaration of the net contents of the retail container as an average quantity in terms of millilitres (ml); (g) the name and address of importers or distributors; 130 Standards (h) alcoholic content of the bottled product as a percentage by volume; (i) “best before” date; and (j) batch number, lot number or date mark. 4.2.1 The labels on retail containers of shandy shall also include– (a) a list of the ingredients in descending order of proportion by weight; (b) an indication of the fruit or vegetable flavour used in the product; and (c) an indication of the alcoholic strength by volume. 4.2.2 The labels on retail containers of malta shall also include– (a) a list of the ingredients in descending order of proportion by weight, in which “wort” may be named, and (b) the statement “non-alcoholic” . 4.3 The labels on retail containers of ale, beer, malta, malt liquor, porter, shandy or stout may include– (a) nutritional information, in terms of the Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA) for vitamins and minerals set by the Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute or the U.S. authorities; Standards 131 (b) any warning as to the effects of alcohol on health or safety that may be required by an authority; (c) if in a glass container, whether the container may be returned to the dealer or manufacturer. (“returnable”) or disposed of otherwise; (d) if in a metal or plastic container, an indication whether the container material may be recycled; or (e) whether a refund or payment is made for a returnable glass container. 4.4 Bulk containers (barrels, casks, or pressurized containers for sale from draught) shall labelled with– (a) the common name of the brewery product; (b) the brand name or trade name; (c) the name of the brewer, manufacturer or person controlling the brand name, and an adequate postal address; (d) the average net contents of the bulk containers; and (e) when exported, the name of the country of origin. 5.0 CLARIFICATIONS 5.1 Wherever there appears to be a conflict between the requirements of this standard and any legal requirements according to the laws and regulations of any Member Country 132 Standards of the Caribbean Community, the legal requirements shall take precedence. 5.2 Wherever there appears to be a conflict between the requirements of this standard and the requirements of any other Caribbean Community Standard, the requirements of this standard shall take precedence.