"The VSW German business association had appealed to the court, saying that a product sold by PB VI Goods and called "Virgin Gin Alkoholfrei" ("Non-alcoholic Virgin Gin") was in breach of a 2019 EU definition of gin. This states that "gin should be produced by flavouring ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin with juniper berries, and the minimum alcoholic strength by volume of that ethyl alcohol must be 37.5%," as the court put it in a press release."
""The Court finds that there is a clear prohibition in EU law on presenting and labeling a beverage such as that in question as 'non-alcoholic gin,' due to the very fact that that beverage does not contain alcohol," the court wrote. "The fact that the legal name 'gin' is accompanied by the term 'non-alcoholic' is irrelevant in that regard." However, the court stressed that this did not preclude the company from selling its product, merely from selling it with the word "gin" in its name."
EU law defines gin as ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin flavored with juniper berries with a minimum alcoholic strength by volume of 37.5%. Presenting or labeling a beverage as "non-alcoholic gin" is prohibited because such a beverage does not contain the required alcohol. Use of the legal name "gin" is therefore not permitted when the product lacks alcohol, even if accompanied by "non-alcoholic." The prohibition does not prevent sale of the product under a different name. The prohibition aims to protect consumers from confusion about product composition and to prevent unfair competition against gin producers.
Read at www.dw.com
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