Facilmente digeribile...ma non per la Corte di giustizia! Ovvero: della nozione di «informazioni sulla salute» nell'etichettatura delle bevande alcoliche secondo la normativa UE

In this article the Author comments on the recent sentence of the Court of Justice EU of 6 September 2012, Deutsches Weintor. After a general introduction of the issue and a summary of the grounds of the decision, the Author highlights problems with the interpretation of the Regulation (Ec) No 1924/06 given by the Court of Justice and finds it both too restrictive and in non-compliance with the principle of proportionality. The negative consequences of the sentence in the specific sector of the functional foodstuffs market are analysed, and the juridical evaluation also covers the Commission Regulation (Eu) No 432/2012 of 16 May 2012 establishing a list of permitted health claims made in foods, as well as the role of EFSA in the definition of the criterion to interpret the Regulation on nutritional and health claims. The article concludes with a request for a future revision of the jurisprudence and the general regulation of this matter in order to achieve a better equilibrium between the protection of health, consumer rights and the economic interests of businesses.