Drinks watchdog changes tack
Portman Group is to set up a system to actively monitor how drinks producers adhere to its code of practice.
Portman's chief executive David Poley announced the move to MPs at a meeting at the Houses of Parliament probing whether new rules in alcohol marketing will impact on drinking culture.
This marks a change in policy for Portman which in the past has only acted on complaints about products.
Poley also expressed doubts about the link between alcohol pricing in supermarkets and responsible drinking - which led to criticisms from Marston's brewing boss Alastair Darby.
Poley said there would be "some sort of monitoring system" but said "it's going to be tricky to do because it's not black and white what breaches the code".
He also promised a code awareness campaign targeted at Trading Standards, licensing officers, alcohol campaigners and others later this year.
When asked about the impact of supermarket pricing on binge drinking Poley said: "I think it's a tricky issue. On one level there's concern about the apparently low price of alcohol we have in the UK in recent years.
"The fact is we don't really know whatt impact supermarket pricing is having on drinking patterns - it's obviously affecting consumer paterns but it might be they take it home and drink it at their leisure."
He compared supermarket bulk deals on drink to deals on Fairy Liquid which he saw recently, saying "I wasn't going to go home and do twice as much washing up."
Alastair Darby said: "I think it's very dangerous to compare beer to Fairly Liquid. Beer is significantly more elastic in consumption than Fairy Liquid. Generally when it is in the house it will be consumed at a faster rate."
