II
(Non-legislative acts)
REGUL ATIONS
COMMISSION DELEGA TED REGUL ATION (EU) 2021/1334 
of 27 May 2021
amending Regulation (EU) 2019/787 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards 
allusions to legal names of spir it drinks or geog raphical indications for spir it drinks in the 
descr iption, presentati on and labelling of other spir it drinks 
THE EUR OPEAN COMMISSION,
Havi ng regar d to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Havi ng regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/787 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 Apr il 2019 on the 
definit ion, descr iption, presentation and labelling of spirit drinks, the use of the names of spirit drinks in the presentation 
and labelling of other foodstuffs, the prote ction of geographical indications for spirit drinks, the use of ethyl alcohol and 
distillate s of agricultural origin in alcoholic beverages, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 (1), and in particular 
Article 50(3) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Article 12(4) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 lays down rules on how to displa y allusions to the legal name of spirit 
drink catego ries or geographical indications for spirit drinks in the presentation and labelling of alcoholic beverages .
(2) Article 12(4) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 does not require that the name of the resulting alcoholic beverage is 
displa yed in the same visual field as the allusion. Where the name of the alcoholic beverage appears in a diffe rent 
visual field than the allusion, consumers may be however induced to believe that the allusion is part of the name of 
the alcoholic beverage, notably in the cases where the resulting alcoholic beverag e is a spirit drink.
(3) Moreover , in certain cases, such allusion may unduly abuse the reputation of spirit drink categor ies or geograp hical 
indications, whic h, when combined with other foodstuffs that are not required or allowed in their production, lose 
their nature and may no long er be labelled as such. Displa ying those names in a prominent way in the presentation 
and labelling of the spirit drink which makes allusion to them, may thus effectively result in misappropr iation of 
their reputation.
(4) Article 7(1), point (a), of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2)requires 
that food information is not misleading, notably as to the nature and identity of the food. Article 9 of that Regulation 
provid es that mandatory food information, including the name of the foodstuff, is to be provi ded and Article 13 of 
that Regulation requires that mandatory information is mark ed in a conspicuous place in such a way as to be easily 
visible, clearly legible and, where appropr iate, indelible.
(1)OJ L 130, 17.5.2019, p. 1.
(2)Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on the provision of food 
information to consumers, amending Regulations (EC) No 1924/2006 and (EC) No 1925/2006 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council, and repealing Commission Directive 87/250/EEC, Council Directive 90/496/EEC, Commission Directive 1999/10/EC, 
Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, Commission Directives 2002/67/EC and 2008/5/EC and 
Commission Regulation (EC) No 608/2004 (OJ L 304, 22.11.2011, p. 18).EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union 12.8.2021                                                                                                                                           L 289/1  (5) In accordance with Article 9 of Regulation (EU) 2019/787, the presentation and labelling requirements set out in 
Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 apply to alcoholic beverage s resulting from the combination of spirit drinks with 
other foodstuffs. In order to ensure that those requirements are best fulfilled, in particular for spirit drinks making 
allusion to other spirit drinks, it is appropr iate to require that the legal name of the resulting spirit drink be 
displa yed in the same visual field as the allusion to a spirit drink. This should occur each time the allusion is 
indicated in the descr iption, presentation or labelling of a spirit drink. This will prevent misleading practices and 
ensure that consumers are properly informed about the actual nature of the spirit drink resulting from the 
combination of spirit drinks with other foodstuffs.
(6) Regulation (EU) 2019/787 should theref ore be amended according ly.
(7) A transitional period should be provid ed for the application of the labelling provis ions laid down in this Regulation 
to allow spirit drinks labelled before 31 December 2022 in compl iance with the provisions of Regulation (EC) 
No 110/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3)to continue being placed on the market without 
requir ing them to be relabelled.
(8) In accordance with Article 51(3) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 and to avoid any sort of regulator y vacuum, this 
Regulation should apply retroactively from 25 May 2021 ,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGUL ATION:
Article 1
In Article 12 of Regulation (EU) 2019/787, paragraph 4 is replaced by the followi ng:
‘4. The allusions refer red to in paragraphs 2 and 3 shall:
(a) not be on the same line as the name of the alcoholic beverage ;
(b) appear in a font size which is no larger than half the font size used for the name of the alcoholic beverage and, 
where compo und terms are used, in a font size which is no larger than half the font size used for such 
compound term s, in accordance with point (c) of Article 11(3); and
(c) in case of allusions in the descr iption, presentation and labelling of spirit drinks, alwa ys be accompan ied by the 
legal name of the spirit drink, which shall appear in the same visual field as the allusion.’ .
Article 2
Spir it drinks which do not meet the requirements laid down in Article 12(4), point (c), of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 as 
amended by this Regulation but whic h meet the requirements of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 and were labelled before 
31 December 2022 may continue to be placed on the mark et until stoc ks are exhausted.
Article 3
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European 
Union.
It shall apply from 25 May 2021 .
(3)Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 Januar y 2008 on the definit ion, descr iption, 
presentation, labelling and the prot ection of geogr aphical indications of spirit drinks and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) 
No 1576/89 (OJ L 39, 13.2.2008, p. 16).EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union L 289/2                                                                                                                                           12.8.2021  This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 27 May 2021 .
For the Commission
The President
Ursula VON DER LEYENEN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union 12.8.2021                                                                                                                                           L 289/3