Carmarthenshire Trading Standards: alcohol testing In this feature l national business l alcohol measures l proactive campaign The spirit of change Open pourers on spirit bottles can create a sense of drama in bars and restaurants but, says james lee, they may be causing customers to be short-changed S The company initially objected, as it was concerned that the sense of theatre at its bars would be compromised mall teams can make a big impact as Carmarthenshire Trading Standards has shown and, sometimes, changes come where you dont expect them. Our team helps spread festive cheer in the run-up to Christmas by ensuring consumers get what they pay for in pubs and restaurants. We used the 2016 festivities to undertake a proactive campaign surrounding alcohol measures and labelling, visiting around 40 licensed premises to screen test and sample spirits. For this, we used a self-devised survey to check labelling and alcohol content in wines and spirits offered for sale, focusing on adulterated, watered-down and counterfeit products. One of our routine visits at the end of 2015 highlighted an issue that the team had never encountered before, and led to further investigation. Within four months, and as a result of our action, the national restaurant chain which will remain unnamed had changed its alcohol-storage policy across the UK, despite management having initial reservations. the full story Trading standards officer James Lee with alcohol samples Weve found unscrupulous landlords partially substituting their spirits with cheaper product As part of our proactive Christmas campaign to prevent the sale of watered-down and counterfeit spirits in early December 2015, adiscrepancy was identified in one of the spirits sampled at a local branch of a national restaurant chain. So a sample was sent away fortesting. The results came back between Christmas and the new year, and confirmed that there was an issue. We returned to the premises in early January 2016 to take more samples and run some screen tests. We found that six spirits had a reduced alcohol content. These were then formally sampled and, in February, were found to be between five and six per cent deficient enough to make them illegal. At first, we couldnt work out what The company the cause was but then we noticed all agreed to take the samples had open pourers and that remedial action evaporation was a problem. It was an across all of its issuemycolleagues and I had never chains comeacross before in our time as trading nationwide, on standards officers. the basis of our We were in constant dialogue with the company. It was confident that its procedures suggestions were correct and in order, but our team was able to point out that there was an issue with evaporation and suggested means by which the company could act to prevent any further breaches of the law. As the open pourers seemed to be the main issue, we suggested that storing the spirits with a closed cap would not only protect the consumer, but also ensure an extended shelf life for the alcohol. Ifsuch action wasnt taken, staff would need to test spirits regularly and discard any that were found to be deficient. The company initially objected, as it was concerned that the sense of theatre at its This is an excellent example of how bars would be compromised. However, it did Primary Authorities and businesses acknowledge that there was a serious issue can, and should, work constructively that needed to be addressed. with investigating authorities. Doing After several formal letters were sent, we so not only benefits the business and were able to conclude the investigation in the consumer, but also creates less April because the firm agreed to take remedial need for costly court proceedings. action across all of its chains, nationwide, on We are pleased that our checks and the basis of our suggestions. subsequent investigations here in Id recommend officers in similar positions Carmarthenshire have influenced or considering similar campaigns be wary change for consumers across the UK. of uncovered or open bottles of spirits offered for sale. Jim Jones, executive board member for public protection at Progress and new tactics in 2016 Carmarthenshire County Council We gave advice to other businesses on this matter over the course of 2016, including working with two other businesses to addressthe same issues as the national restaurant chain. It is interesting to note that weve found an increase in unscrupulous landlords partially substituting their spirits with cheaper product. The small proportion of genuine, premium product left in the bottle will enable the mixture to pass the clinistick authenticity screening test used for clear spirits as a result of which, it may not then be formally sampled by an officer. Be aware of this, and ensure rigorous checks with a hydrometer to ensure the alcohol content is the same as that marked on the bottle. Were very proud of our proactive Christmas campaigns to protect consumers from dishonesty and bad practice, and of our work in identifying issues and discovering the cause. Despite being a small team, we have brought about a change in the policy of a national restaurant chain, which means our actions have impacted on consumers across the UK. For more information, visit Carmarthenshire Trading Standards website or follow @CarmsCouncil on Twitter. Credits James Lee is a trading standards officer at Carmarthenshire County Council. Images: Alexandru Nika / Shutterstock To share this page, in the toolbar click on You might also like From problem trader to community champion September 2016