Is it wine or ice cream? Do minors buy too much? Journalist investigation: Alcohol ice cream minors | Alcohol | Ice cream

Manga/Gao Yue

[Investigation Motivation]

"Is alcohol ice cream considered alcohol? Can children eat it?" Recently, Ms. Zhao, a Beijing resident, called to inquire. Ms. Zhao said that her child is in the second grade of junior high school, which is the age when she is curious about new things. This summer, the child bought a lot of alcoholic ice cream to eat, with various brands and flavors available. Some were bought from nearby small shops, while others were bought online.

"I'm worried that alcohol ice cream may have an impact on a child's health, but the child said it only has a slight taste of alcohol, and it still tastes like ice cream rather than alcohol. Many classmates are eating it, so it's not a problem. I don't know if I should stop him from eating it," Ms. Zhao said in confusion.

Does alcohol ice cream belong to alcohol or not? Do minors buy too much? Is it edible? Can merchants sell alcoholic ice cream to minors at will? With these questions in mind, the reporter conducted an investigation and interview.

This summer, alcoholic ice cream has become a new social favorite, with photos of ice cream with various branded liquors printed on its packaging becoming popular on social media. Many young people are flocking to this trend, including some minors.

"Can children really eat alcohol ice cream?" This has become a question for many parents. Recently, a reporter from the Legal Daily randomly interviewed dozens of parents in Beijing, Tianjin, Hunan, Shandong and other places and found that they all expressed acceptance of the prevalence of alcoholic ice cream, which is a market behavior; But most people believe that children should not easily buy alcohol ice cream to eat, fearing that it will affect their physical and mental health. Another parent roast that alcohol ice cream is sold in the snack bar near the children's primary school.

Several interviewed experts pointed out that 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 alcoholic beverages. As a frozen beverage, if the alcohol content of ice cream exceeds 0.5% vol, it belongs to alcoholic beverages or food and should be made and sold in accordance with alcohol laws and regulations. Minors are not allowed to consume it, and merchants should also apply prohibitive regulations prohibiting sales to minors. From the perspective of protecting minors, the sale of alcoholic ice cream should be further regulated in accordance with the law.

Alcohol ice cream is selling well

Many minors purchase

The reporter's investigation found that there are many brands of alcohol ice cream on the market, such as Maotai, Wuliangye, Luzhou Laojiao, Shaoxing Huangjiu, and Japanese sake otter festival. Old brand ice cream manufacturers such as Madeier have also launched rum flavored ice cream sticks, and many offline ice cream shops have made internet famous wine essence ice cream. Although the price is not cheap, it is quite popular among young people.

Online shopping platforms, food delivery platforms, Maotai ice cream, Rex Festival ice cream, Madeier rum flavored ice cream, and other products have impressive sales, with some products receiving over 50000 after-sales reviews. "The rich milk flavor carries a hint of alcohol," "the full aroma of wine makes it a bit appetizing to eat," and "the taste is very similar to the wine, with a delicate taste"... There are countless similar positive reviews. ".

Offline, various types of alcoholic ice cream are selling very well. The reporter randomly visited more than ten small shops in Beijing, Jinan, Zaozhuang, and other places in Shandong, and found that most of the shops have alcohol ice cream for sale, with significant sales. Many small shops are still located near primary and secondary schools. A small shop is located diagonally opposite a key experimental elementary school. The shop owner claims that alcohol ice cream sells very well among the student population.

Xiao Shuai, who lives in Zaozhuang, Shandong, started fourth grade after school. This summer, he used his pocket money to buy alcohol ice cream multiple times to eat. In his opinion, eating alcohol ice cream is a cool thing, and classmates will also communicate their feelings about eating different types of alcohol ice cream, "feeling like they are adults.".

On the afternoon of August 16th, the reporter arrived at a popular Italian ice cream shop in Chaoyang, Beijing and saw several high school students holding ice cream taking photos and checking in at the entrance of the shop. At this point, the rum ice cream launched by the shop has been sold out. "It's selling too well, we ran out of ingredients, come back tomorrow," the waiter told reporters. The rum ice cream configuration is 4 kilograms of ice cream containing 165 grams of rum, "it's no problem for children to eat, they won't get drunk.".

At a popular ice cream shop in Xicheng, Beijing, a cocktail ice cream is selling well - a pink liquid swaying in a transparent glass, with a heart-shaped ice cream mixture of pink and white on top of the liquid, marketed as "sweet to your heart.". The reporter observed that there are parents with children and many middle and high school students among the buyers. The reporter asked, "My younger brother in the first year of high school wants to try it out. Can we lower the alcohol content?"? The shopkeeper readily agreed, "You can adjust the alcohol content according to your needs, whether it's high or low."

Parents have different attitudes towards the consumption of alcohol ice cream by minors. Among the respondents, a small number of parents feel that their children can eat something without any problem. Ms. Ding from Zaozhuang, Shandong, often buys alcoholic ice cream, which she eats herself and gives to her 12-year-old child. "The taste is quite good, it is a trend nowadays, and there is not much alcohol in it, so it will not have any adverse effects on the child.".

Most parents hold a questioning or opposing attitude. Ms. Zhang, a parent of a 10-year-old child in Jinan, Shandong, firmly opposes her child's consumption of alcohol ice cream. "I have tried an alcohol ice cream before, and it has a strong taste, which feels no different from drinking a small amount of alcohol. How can a child drink alcohol?" said Ms. Wang, the head of a junior high school student from Chaoyang, Beijing. "I won't let my child try alcohol ice cream because it feels unsafe and has an impact on their body. I am also worried that my child will become addicted to alcohol as a result."

The alcohol content label is unclear

Most of them do not have risk warnings

So, how much alcohol does alcohol ice cream actually contain? Does it belong to ice cream or wine?

The reporter checked the external packaging and online sales promotion pages of nearly ten best-selling alcoholic ice creams, and consulted their customer service, and found that only a few of them, such as Moutai ice cream, had marked the alcohol content, for example, Moutai ice cream clearly marked "adding 2% 53% vol of Kweichow Moutai liquor"; Most alcoholic ice creams are not labeled with alcohol content, and customer service refers to them as "trace" or "small".

"What is the specific amount of alcohol in a small amount?" Faced with further questioning from reporters, the customer service of a certain brand of alcohol ice cream replied, "There is no accurate data," and said, "The alcohol content of the lollipop version is lower. If it is a student, it is recommended to eat less; the cup version has a strong alcohol taste and is not recommended for students to eat.".

Multiple interviewed experts have suggested that ice cream containing alcohol should be labeled with its alcohol content. Alcoholic ice cream should be considered as other alcoholic beverages listed in the food safety permit catalog, and the alcohol content should be indicated according to the labeling provisions of the National Food Safety Standard Distilled Liquor and its Compounded Liquor and the National Food Safety Standard Liquor.

"According to the provisions of the Consumer Rights Protection Law, consumers have the right to know the true situation of the purchased goods, and the alcohol content, as a core element of alcoholic beverages, should be known by consumers. Failure to indicate the alcohol content by merchants violates consumers' right to know," said Zhang Bufeng, a professor at the Law School of Central University for Nationalities.

Lawyer Li Fei, a partner of Beijing Jingshi Law Firm, told reporters that China's "Terminology and Classification of Beverage Alcoholic Beverages" defines beverage alcohol as alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content of 0.5% vol or above. Therefore, any beverage with an alcohol content of 0.5% vol or above is considered alcohol and should be managed and sold according to the category of alcoholic products, and it is prohibited to sell it to minors.

According to the Law on the Protection of Minors, sales outlets for cigarettes, alcohol, and lottery are not allowed to be set up around schools and kindergartens. It is prohibited to sell cigarettes, alcohol, lottery tickets or redeem lottery bonuses to minors. Tobacco, alcohol, and lottery operators shall prominently display signs prohibiting the sale of tobacco, alcohol, or lottery tickets to minors; For those who are difficult to determine whether they are minors, they should be required to present their identification documents.

Regarding the question that many parents are concerned about whether minors can consume a small amount of alcohol ice cream, Zong Zhaojing, Deputy Chief Physician of Zunyi Medical University Affiliated Hospital, gave a negative answer.

"The cerebral cortex of minors is more sensitive to damage caused by alcohol than adults. For minors, the safest way is to not touch alcohol. Consuming alcoholic foods and beverages is also an intake of alcohol, so it is not recommended for minors to consume. Zong Zhaojing said that people should pay attention to the" hidden alcohol "in their daily lives, read the ingredient list of products before consumption, pay attention to whether there is an alcohol label, and avoid risks.".

It is worth noting that a journalist's investigation found that only a small number of such products, such as Maotai ice cream, have indicated risks on product instructions or promotional pages. For example, Maotai ice cream product instructions indicate that Maotai ice cream has a certain alcohol content, and should not be consumed by minors, pregnant women, alcohol allergies, etc. Drivers should consume it with caution. Most alcoholic ice creams do not indicate any related risks.

In addition, when the reporter purchased alcohol ice cream online and offline, the shop owner did not provide relevant prompts such as "the product contains alcohol" and "minors are not allowed to consume it". There was a tip on the package of an alcoholic ice cream that "Each piece of Baijiu only contains 0.5%, and minors, pregnant women, and people with alcohol allergies should not eat it". However, when the reporter asked the merchant with "there are primary school students at home, can you buy and taste it", the other replied that "primary school students can eat a small amount".

Strengthen supervision and standardize sales

Fulfilling family education responsibilities

Several parents have suggested that in order to prevent minors from coming into contact with alcohol ice cream, it is necessary to start by standardizing the sale of alcohol ice cream. "Nowadays, children have pocket money, and ice cream is their favorite. The packaging and advertising of alcoholic ice cream are very attractive, making it difficult to prevent children from buying and eating it." "Some small shops near schools are selling alcoholic ice cream, so parents can't keep an eye on it," said the interviewed parents.

Regarding the phenomenon of selling alcohol ice cream in small shops near primary and secondary schools, many interviewed experts believe that this violates the Law on the Protection of Minors and has substantial harm to minors. Beverages with an alcohol content exceeding 0.5% vol belong to the category of alcoholic beverages and should be subject to prohibitive regulations prohibiting sales to minors.

According to Zhang Li, a professor at the School of Civil and Commercial Law of Southwest University of Political Science and Law and the person in charge of the home school collaborative training base for young people's legal literacy, even alcohol ice cream with alcohol content below 0.5% vol should be prohibited from children's contact and consumption according to the principle of "most beneficial to minors".

"The 0.5% vol here is only a macro control standard determined by the state, and it cannot accurately apply to the assessment of the health risks of alcohol to individual minors. Consuming a large amount of ice cream with alcohol content below 0.5% vol at once or for a long time may also cause cumulative damage to the health of minors." Zhang Li said that regardless of whether the alcohol content of alcohol ice cream is higher than 0.5% vol, minors should be vigilant.

"Compared to pure alcoholic products, alcoholic ice cream is more attractive to minors and has more hidden risks. It is recommended to improve relevant laws and regulations. When selling alcoholic ice cream offline or online, minors must be clearly prohibited from purchasing it." Li Fei suggested strengthening supervision of the sales process of alcoholic ice cream, strengthening the responsibility of sellers, and requiring sellers to set up a prominent sign "This product contains alcohol and cannot be sold to minors" or to clearly inform this information during sales. When placing an order online, the platform will force a risk warning to appear.

Zhang Bufeng believes that when selling alcoholic ice cream, businesses should follow the national labeling standards for alcoholic beverages, and indicate on the packaging interface the alcohol concentration, warning words that "excessive drinking is harmful to health," and prompts that "products containing alcohol should not be consumed by minors, pregnant women, and alcohol allergy sufferers.". Stick a prominent sign in the shop stating "No Selling Alcohol to Minors".

"If a merchant wants to sell homemade alcohol ice cream, they must first obtain the relevant qualifications and licenses for brewing, and fulfill the relevant obligations for selling alcohol ice cream on the premise of having the qualifications." Zhang Bufeng said.

The reporter noticed that there are still some alcoholic ice creams on the market, and merchants claim to add food additives to give them an alcoholic taste, but they do not contain alcohol. In this regard, Zhang Li believes that strict regulation should also be implemented. On the one hand, the use of additives, even if they meet national standards, can bring health risks to the growth and development of minors. On the other hand, the taste of alcohol may trigger minors' curiosity and longing for alcohol, causing adverse induction to minors.

He also suggested that producers should avoid promoting alcohol ice cream with "imitation wine packaging" in mass media, public places, etc; Merchants in the vicinity of schools and kindergartens should be prohibited from selling such alcoholic ice cream; When selling such products in other places, they should be placed in the tobacco and alcohol sales area and not mixed with regular ice cream to prevent minors from coming into contact with such ice cream.

The interviewed experts believe that parents should educate and guide minors not to consume alcohol ice cream, which falls within the scope of parental guardianship responsibilities for the education and protection of minors as stipulated in the Law on the Protection of Minors and the Law on the Promotion of Family Education.

"In terms of family education, parents should be more vigilant about the alcohol properties of alcohol ice cream, and not let alcohol ice cream play the 'edge ball' of ice cream. It is necessary to educate minors about the harm of alcohol to their physical health, such as brain, nervous system, liver and kidney function, and warn them of the fact that 'drinking can easily lead to trouble', so that minors can actively stay away from alcohol and its derivatives," said Zhang Li.