Cheap, low-quality wine sold in foil bags and inferior plastic containers will be phased out over the next year, the South African Wine and Brandy Company (SAWB) said on Tuesday.
The company’s chief executive, Johan van Rooyen, said in a statement that this step was necessary to curb alcohol abuse in South Africa, as well as to boost the image of the wine industry.
”The industry has taken a firm stand against the selling of wine to consumers in substandard and improper containers,” he said.
”And the ‘papsak’ [foil bag] culture should be eradicated from South African society altogether.”
He said the availability of cheap wine in foil and inferior plastic containers have contributed to alcohol abuse and social disintegration in the country, especially among poor and rural communities.
It was also damaging to the reputation and integrity of the wine industry.
A work group has been formed to draw up a plan and time frame for getting rid of the foil bags and plastic containers.
”The SAWB not only has the support of the industry in this mission, but also that of local and national government who are aware of the situation with regards to the role these containers play in alcohol abuse and social breakdown.”
About 17 percent of all wine bought in South Africa is sold in foil bags. This is about 48-million litres of wine.
The sale of liquor products in foil bags could be prohibited through the Trade Metrology Act, the leader of the work group, Andre Matthee said.
Under this law liquor may only be sold if is was pre-packed in a self-supporting container. If the container was not self-supporting, it had to be enclosed by a self-supporting container.
The container should also have a sealed, tamper-proof tap and should not have a capacity of more than five litres.
Certain restraints would also be put on liquor being sold in plastic containers, regulating not only the quality of container, but also the quality of the liquor in the container.
”The working group is of the opinion that the problems surrounding the packaging under discussion will eventually only be displaced if the quality of the wine in these containers is also addressed,” Van Rooyen said.
He added that if emphasis was placed not only on the containers, but also on the quality of liquor, it would make wine more expensive in the short term, but in the long term it would ensure that wine drinkers insisted on better quality products. — Sapa