Expert reminder: Do not "harm" minors, as liquor companies compete for the market of young people

Not long ago, our newspaper published an article titled "Is Alcoholic Ice Cream Wine or Ice Cream? Experts: Alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content of over 0.5% are not allowed to be sold to minors", which has attracted a lot of reprints and social attention. The article has been read more than 100000 times on our WeChat official account. Many readers have left comments suggesting that the sale of alcoholic ice cream should be regulated to protect the legitimate rights and interests of minors. Some media comments also suggest that the alcohol content of alcoholic ice cream cannot be concealed.

At the same time, some readers have reported to our reporter: Some ice creams have a shape or outer packaging like a wine bottle. Can such ice creams be sold to minors? There are many varieties of alcoholic ice cream on the market, which are often sold together with regular ice cream. How should law enforcement and judicial departments regulate them?

The Law on the Protection of Minors establishes the principle of being most beneficial to minors, and protecting minors is also a common responsibility of the whole society. In response to social concerns and further promoting the standardized development of alcoholic ice cream, the reporter conducted another in-depth investigation and interview.

"The shape of this ice cream is like a wine bottle. When the child bought it, I was startled and thought she was drinking." In early September, Ms. Zhang from Zaozhuang, Shandong, came home from work and saw a fourth grade elementary school child holding something in the shape of a wine bottle. She only found out when she asked.

Ms. Zhang said that this summer, the children bought all kinds of ice cream from the grocery store near their home and school, including some alcohol ice cream, some of which were the same shape and packaging as the wine bottle, which worried her very much, "for fear of affecting the physical and mental health of the children".

From alcoholic ice cream to bottle ice cream, this summer, ice cream has been in full swing.

Several experts recently interviewed by the Legal Daily, saying that liquor companies are launching new products such as alcohol ice cream and bottle ice cream to seize the market of young people. This may be understandable, but do not "harm" minors. It is suggested that market supervision departments strengthen supervision, introduce corresponding standards, and procuratorial organs can also file public interest lawsuits to promote market regulation and protect the legitimate rights and interests of minors.

Ice cream "wine" is thriving

Many minors consume it

According to a previous survey, the sales of online shopping platforms, takeaway platforms, Maotai ice cream, Madeier rum flavored ice cream sticks, Shaoxing rice wine popsicles and other products are very considerable, and some products have more than 50000 after-sales evaluations. Offline, various types of alcoholic ice cream are selling very well, with many small shops selling them, some of which are also located near primary and secondary schools.

These alcoholic ice creams are mostly not labeled with alcohol content. When consulting customer service, some refer to them as "trace" or "small amount"; Whether on the outer packaging of ice cream or when sold by merchants, there are mostly no risk warnings such as "the product contains alcohol" or "do not consume by minors". For the question of whether minors and even elementary school students can consume this type of ice cream, most of the answers given by businesses are "can be consumed with confidence" or "can be consumed in small quantities".

In this survey, the reporter found that many businesses sell ice cream that not only has the essence of "wine", but some also have the appearance of "wine". According to incomplete statistics, there are nearly 10 types of ice cream bottles currently on sale in the market.

Like an ice cream with a picture of German black beer printed on the outer packaging, tear open the outer packaging to reveal the ice cream in the shape of a beer bottle. The reporter tasted it and found that the "beer cap" is made of chocolate crispy skin and can be "opened" like a bottle cap, giving the ice cream a taste of alcohol. On the internet, some netizens commented on this bottle of ice cream: "The feeling of opening the bottle cap is close to real, giving off a feeling of drinking alcohol." "A burst of milk is irresistible.".

There is also an ice cream launched by the Baijiu brand, whose selling point is "0% alcohol but has the strong flavor of wine", and its appearance design is almost the same as that of the wine bottle. A netizen said, "Eating ice cream is like drinking alcohol, it's just that the taste of alcohol is a bit light, which can trigger an alcohol addiction."

While the shape of ice cream resembles a wine bottle, some promotional slogans are also very eye-catching, some of which are combined with drinking scene language, such as "I did it, you 'changed'" "Why can adult ice cream be 'changed' to eat? - Because no one cares" "Being an adult is so good, who needs to be a baby", and so on.

The reporter found in the interview that the consumers of alcohol ice cream and bottle ice cream include a large number of minors, even elementary school students.

"Being an adult is really great, no one cares. You can eat whatever you want," said Xiao Wang, a fifth grade elementary school student in Beijing. He and many of his classmates have bought alcohol ice cream and bottle ice cream before. "Open the bottle ice cream, unscrew the lid, and you smell like an adult.".

On the internet, a blogger posted a photo of her child tasting a bottle of ice cream: a seven or eight year old girl holding a bottle shaped ice cream, biting the "bottle cap" with her back teeth like an adult. In the comments, some people called it fun, while others raised questions.

"Alcohol ice cream and bottle ice cream are psychological temptations for children to drink alcohol." Xiao Wang's mother believes that children have a strong curiosity and lack the ability to distinguish. If children can easily buy alcohol ice cream and bottle ice cream, it may drive their desire to taste alcohol. "We hope that relevant departments can regulate this behavior of merchants.".

This is also a common voice among many interviewed parents.

Reduce vigilance and induce alcohol consumption

Harm to the health of minors

The primary concern for parents is whether consuming alcoholic ice cream, even in small amounts, will have an impact on their children's physical health?

Regarding this, Lu Lin, a National People's Congress representative and director of the Neurology Intensive Care Unit at Shandong Provincial Hospital, gave a positive answer: "Alcohol is a psychoactive substance. Consuming alcoholic foods and beverages may harm the health of minors. Minors are in the developmental stage, and their organs are more susceptible to alcohol stimulation, leading to various diseases such as stimulating the digestive tract, affecting bone growth, and in severe cases, even damaging the nervous system and affecting brain development."

In fact, according to the national standard "Terminology and Classification of Beverages and Alcoholic Beverages" implemented on June 1, 2022, alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content of 0.5% vol or higher are classified as beverage spirits. Beverages and alcoholic beverages should be made and sold in accordance with alcohol laws and regulations. Minors are not allowed to consume them, and merchants should also apply prohibitive provisions prohibiting sales to minors.

Several legal experts have pointed out that the failure of businesses to indicate the alcohol content of alcoholic ice cream violates consumers' right to know. According to the provisions of the Consumer Rights Protection Law, consumers have the right to know the true situation of the purchased goods, and alcohol content, as the core element of alcoholic beverages, should be known by consumers.

Even non-alcoholic ice cream, such as alcoholic ice cream or bottle ice cream, parents surveyed are concerned that it may cause negative guidance to their children.

In the view of Yao Jinju, a professor at the Law School of Beijing Foreign Studies University and director of the Center for Chinese and Foreign Education Law, regardless of whether ice cream truly contains alcohol or not, ice cream in the shape of a bottle has the characteristics of alcohol in appearance, and some products are accompanied by suggestive advertising slogans for drinking, which can lead to adverse effects on minors who are exposed to alcohol too early.

"It may be understandable for enterprises to consider bottle ice cream as a commercial innovation, but in sales and promotion, the underage group should not be targeted to avoid infringing on the legitimate interests of minors." Yao Jinju said that industry norms should be strengthened, and corresponding regulations should be made in the production process for its logo, packaging, and other aspects, and further scrutiny should be strengthened in the subsequent sales and promotion stages.

Yang Shangdong, Associate Professor of the School of Administrative Law at Southwest University of Political Science and Law, said that Article 59 of the Law on the Protection of Minors stipulates that operators should set up signs in prominent positions not to sell cigarettes, alcohol, or lottery tickets to minors. For ice cream bottles with an alcohol content exceeding 0.5% vol, they belong to alcoholic beverages or food and should be made and sold in accordance with alcohol laws and regulations. Operators should print "18 Prohibitions" in prominent positions and not sell them to minors.

"Even if it does not contain alcohol, designing ice cream in the shape of a bottle for promotion may not only arouse the interest of minors in alcohol, but also lower their vigilance and encourage them to try drinking, which is also suspected of violating the advertising law's provision that 'advertising must not harm the physical and mental health of minors'." Yang Shangdong said.

In the view of Li Fei, a partner at Beijing Jingshi Law Firm, ice cream is a popular delicacy among minors. Designing ice cream in the shape of a bottle and promoting it vigorously is equivalent to indirectly encouraging minors to have more contact with alcohol, which can easily lure minors to try drinking alcohol, which is not conducive to their healthy growth. It also violates the principle of the most beneficial to minors in the Law on the Protection of Minors. "If this can be done, wouldn't tobacco companies also be able to launch cigarette shaped ice cream?"?

Clarify standards and strengthen supervision

Can file a public interest lawsuit

How to avoid minors from consuming alcohol ice cream and bottle ice cream? Multiple interviewed parents pointed out that in addition to being able to "keep an eye on" parents, it is also necessary to strengthen the supervision of production and sales processes, and prevent and reduce the exposure of minors to such products at the source.

Yang Shangdong believes that for manufacturers of ice cream, market regulatory authorities should regularly conduct education and training on food safety and legal knowledge to guide enterprises in compliant operations. For multi-level distributors, market regulatory authorities should focus on regulating wholesalers, minimize the inflow of products that do not comply with legal regulations into the market, and take strong measures to rectify illegal and irregular products.

"To avoid the adverse effects of alcohol ice cream and bottle ice cream on the underage population, it is recommended that market regulatory authorities promptly introduce relevant regulations on production labeling or packaging to promote strict law enforcement, and promote and train producers, as well as educate and remind guardians of minors and schools," said Yao Jinju.

She believes that in order to urge producers and sellers to fulfill their obligations to protect minors, mandatory regulations should first be introduced and accompanied by clear regulatory measures. Secondly, market supervision departments at all levels should strictly enforce the law through spot checks, investigations, and other means. "In cases where the law is not yet clear, in accordance with the most favorable legal principles for minors, market regulatory authorities can guide alcohol ice cream and bottle ice cream production enterprises to increase their attention to the protection of minors through administrative guidance, such as advice, reminders, and suggestions."

Yao Jinju said that regulatory obligations should focus more on spot checks of sales in areas where minors are active, such as whether there are sales or promotion of alcohol ice cream and bottle ice cream near schools and kindergartens, for end dealers such as convenience stores. A reporting hotline can be posted near the school to encourage the public to report the sale of alcohol products to minors, and the market supervision department will investigate and deal with it in a timely manner.

Yang Shangdong also believes that for sellers near schools, regulatory authorities should take additional strengthening measures, conduct regular supervision and spot checks, and order merchants to stop selling related products, supervise and destroy them according to regulations, or take necessary technical measures if any unfavorable situation for the protection of minors is found.

Che Jie, Vice President of Jiangsu Provincial Lawyers Association, believes that there is an "old" problem behind the new phenomenon of "alcohol" ice cream, which violates the Law on the Protection of Minors. "Market regulatory authorities should formulate, refine, and unify standards in response to this new phenomenon, and clearly control production permits. In addition, this phenomenon is suspected of infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of minors. The procuratorate and parents of students both have the qualifications to file public interest lawsuits and can file civil public interest lawsuits."

"The purpose of enterprises is to cultivate brand loyalty and instill brand awareness among young people. However, if alcohol ice cream and bottle ice cream are allowed to flow into the group of minors, it will cause huge harm to their physical and mental health." Lu Lin said, and he also suggested that the procuratorial organs use public interest litigation to regulate such commercial behavior, promote industry norms and strict law enforcement, and build a strong defense line for the protection of minors.