Parliament’s committee wants lower alcoholic drinks consistency threshold

The parliamentary committee in discussing the consumable alcohol bill considered the indicator level proposed by the government to be too high.

Currently, the government has proposed to classify drinks with over 1.2% alcohol by volume as alcoholic drinks.

Referring to the most common categorization, which is 0.5% by volume, the committee called on the government to lower this percentage.

After a recent meeting, president Ella Lei of the committee told the press that the government had referred to the Hong Kong indicator level as reference when the bill was drafted, according to a report by local media outlet, All About Macau.

The government pledged that it would consider the committee’s suggestions but no promise was made as to whether there will be a change.

Explaining further, Lei cited the government as saying that the indicator level for alcoholic drinks varies among jurisdictions and usually ranges between 0.5% and 1.2%. Picking 1.2% for the bill was grounded on the trade’s mode of operation. The government considers that it will be easier for local importers to acquire alcoholic goods for sale in Macau.

Furthermore, the government was also cited as saying that 95% of beer products being sold on the market have alcoholic levels ranging between 3% and 8.8%. Only three brands of beer products have levels lower than 1.2%.

Speaking on behalf of some committee members, Lei said lowering the indicator threshold will put more types of drinks under the umbrella of supervision and will not be difficult to administer.

Echoing the discussions at the first reading, the question on supervising food made with edible alcohol was raised again at the committee session.

In response, the government said that the main focus of the bill is to supervise drinks. Also, laws in other jurisdictions rarely concern food made with alcohol. Inspection also poses difficulties.

Alcoholic products that are made for therapeutic purposes are not covered by the proposed legislation.