Manga / Takadake
【Investigation motive】
"Is alcoholic ice cream considered alcohol? Can the child eat? Recently, Ms. Zhao, a Beijing citizen, called for consultation. Ms. Zhao said that her child is in the second grade of junior high school, the age when she is curious about new things, and this summer, her child bought a lot of alcoholic ice cream to eat, all kinds of brands and flavors, some from the store near her home, some from the Internet.
"I am worried that alcoholic ice cream will have an impact on the child's health, but the child said that it only has a little taste of wine, and it is still ice cream that is not alcohol, many classmates are eating it, no problem. I don't know if I should stop him from eating it. Ms. Zhao said in confusion.
Is alcoholic ice cream considered alcohol? Do minors buy more? Can it be edible? Can merchants sell alcoholic ice cream to minors at will? With these questions in mind, the reporter conducted investigative interviews.
"The first mouthful of Maotai for young people", "Internet celebrities are online, alcohol popsicles", "slightly drunk, sweet as honey"... This summer, alcoholic ice cream has become a new social favorite, and photos of ice cream printed on the outer packaging of various brands of wine have become popular among friends, and many young people, including some minors, flock to it.
"Can a child eat alcoholic ice cream?" This has become a puzzle for many parents. A reporter from "Rule of Law Daily" recently randomly interviewed dozens of parents in Beijing, Tianjin, Hunan, Shandong and other places and found that they all said that they could accept the prevalence of alcoholic ice cream, which is market behavior; But most people believe that children should not be allowed to easily buy alcoholic ice cream to eat, for fear of affecting children's physical and mental health. There are also parents who complain: there is alcoholic ice cream sold in the store near the child's elementary school.
A number of experts interviewed pointed out that according to the national standard "Terms and Classification of Alcoholic Beverages" implemented on June 1, 2022, alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content of more than 0.5% vol are beverage wines. If the alcohol content of ice cream as a frozen drink exceeds 0.5% vol, it is an alcoholic beverage or food, which should be made and sold in accordance with alcohol laws and regulations, minors cannot eat it, and merchants should also apply the prohibition of sales to minors. From the perspective of protecting minors, the sale of alcoholic ice cream should be further regulated in accordance with the law.
Alcoholic ice cream is selling
Many minors buy
The reporter's investigation learned that there are many brands of alcoholic ice cream on the market, such as Moutai, Wuliangye, Luzhou Laojiao, Shaoxing Rice Wine, and Japanese Sake Otter Festival, etc., old ice cream manufacturers such as Madieer have also launched rum-flavored popsicles, and there are many offline ice cream shops homemade Internet celebrity alcoholic ice cream, although the price is not cheap, but it is quite popular with young people.
Online shopping platforms, takeaway platforms, Moutai ice cream, otter ice cream, Madieer rum flavored popsicles, etc. sales are very impressive, and some products have more than 50,000 after-sales evaluations. "The rich milk smell has the smell of wine", "Full of wine aroma, a little on the top of the meal", "The taste is very similar to the wine, and the taste is delicate"... There are countless positive reviews like this.
Offline, all kinds of alcoholic ice cream are selling hot. The reporter randomly visited more than a dozen commissaries in Beijing, Shandong Jinan, Zaozhuang and other places and found that most of them had alcoholic ice cream for sale, and the sales were not small. A number of shops are also located near primary and secondary schools. A kiosk diagonally opposite a key experimental primary school said that alcoholic ice cream sold very well among students.
Xiaoshuai, who lives in Zaozhuang, Shandong Province, went to the fourth grade of primary school after the start of school, and this summer he used his pocket money to buy alcoholic ice cream many times. In his opinion, eating alcoholic ice cream is a cool thing, and classmates will exchange feelings about eating different types of alcoholic ice cream, "feeling like an adult".
At noon on August 16, the reporter came to an Internet celebrity Italian ice cream shop in Chaoyang, Beijing, and saw a number of children with the appearance of middle school students taking photos at the door of the store with ice cream. At this time, the rum ice cream launched by the store has been sold out, "sold too well, the raw materials are gone, come back tomorrow", the waiter told reporters, the configuration of rum ice cream is 4 kilograms of ice cream containing 165 grams of rum, "no problem for children, will not get drunk".
Inside an internet celebrity ice cream shop in Beijing's Xicheng, a cocktail ice cream is selling — a pink liquid swaying in a transparent cup, topped by a pink and white heart-shaped ice cream featuring a "sweet to your heart." The reporter observed that the purchasers included parents with children, as well as many junior and senior high school students. The reporter asked, "My brother, who is in the first year of high school, wants to try it, can I reduce the alcohol content"? The store agreed: "You can adjust the alcohol content according to your needs, both high and low." ”
Parents have mixed attitudes towards alcoholic ice cream consumption by minors. Ms. Ding, from Zaozhuang, Shandong Province, often buys alcoholic ice cream, both for herself and for 12-year-olds, "the taste is quite good, it is a current trend, and there is not much alcohol in it, which will not have any adverse effects on children."
Most parents are skeptical or opposed. Ms. Zhang from Jinan, Shandong, is a parent of a 10-year-old child who is firmly opposed to alcoholic ice cream: "I have eaten an alcoholic ice cream, the smell of alcohol is very strong, it feels no different from drinking a small amount of alcohol, how can children drink?!" Ms. Wang, a parent of junior high school students from Chaoyang, Beijing, said: "I will not let my children try alcoholic ice cream, I feel unsafe, it will affect my child's body, and I am worried that my child will become addicted to alcohol." ”
The alcohol content is not labeled
Most of them have no risk warning
So, how much alcohol is in alcoholic ice cream? Does it belong to ice cream or wine?
The reporter checked the outer packaging of nearly ten best-selling alcoholic ice creams and the promotional pages of online sales, and consulted their customer service, and found that only a few such as Moutai ice cream were marked with alcohol content, such as Moutai ice cream clearly marked "add 2% 53% vol Kweichow Moutai wine"; Most alcoholic ice creams are not labeled with alcohol content, and customer service calls them "trace amounts" and "small amounts".
"How much is the specific amount?" In the face of further questioning from reporters, the customer service of a brand of alcoholic ice cream replied that "there is no accurate data", and said that "popsicles have a lower alcohol content, if they are students, it is recommended to eat less; The glass wine has a strong flavor and is not recommended for students."
A number of experts interviewed suggested that ice cream containing alcohol should be labeled with alcohol content. Alcoholic ice cream should be regarded as other alcoholic beverages in the food safety license catalog, and the alcohol content should be marked with reference to the provisions on labels in the National Food Safety Standard Distilled Spirits and Their Formulated Wines and the National Food Safety Standards for Wine.
"According to the provisions of the Law on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Consumers, consumers have the right to know the true situation of the goods purchased, and the alcohol content, as the core element of alcoholic beverages, should be known by consumers. Merchants do not indicate alcohol content, which violates consumers' right to know. Zhang Bufeng, a professor at the Law School of Minzu University of China, said.
Li Fei, a partner at Beijing Jingshi Law Firm, told reporters that the mainland's "Beverage Wine Terms and Classification" defines beverage wine as alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content of 0.5% vol or more, so as long as the alcohol content is above 0.5% vol, it belongs to alcohol, and should be managed and sold according to alcoholic goods, and sales to minors are prohibited.
According to the Law on the Protection of Minors, no tobacco, alcohol or lottery sales outlets may be set up around schools and kindergartens. It is forbidden to sell tobacco, alcohol, lottery tickets to minors or to redeem lottery winnings. Tobacco, liquor, and lottery operators shall set up signs in conspicuous positions stating that they do not sell tobacco, alcohol, or lottery tickets to minors; Where it is difficult to determine whether they are minors, they shall be required to present their identity documents.
For the question that many parents are concerned about whether minors can eat alcoholic ice cream in small amounts, Zong Zhaojing, deputy chief physician of the Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, gave a negative answer.
"The cerebral cortex of minors is more sensitive to alcohol-induced damage than adults. The safest way for minors is to drink alcohol. Consuming alcoholic foods and beverages is also an intake of alcohol, so it is not recommended for minors. Zong Zhaojing said that people should pay attention to the "hidden alcohol" in life, read the ingredient list of the product before eating, and pay attention to whether there is alcohol labeling to avoid risks.
It is worth noting that the reporter's investigation found that only a few such products such as Moutai ice cream prompt the risk in the product description or promotion page, such as Moutai ice cream product description tips: Moutai ice cream has a certain alcohol content, minors, pregnant women, alcohol allergies, etc. should not eat, drivers please eat with caution. Most alcoholic ice creams do not indicate the associated risks.
In addition, when the reporter purchased alcoholic ice cream online and offline, the store did not carry out relevant tips such as "the product contains alcohol" and "minors should not eat it". There is an alcoholic ice cream package printed with a prompt "each stick contains only 0.5% liquor, minors, pregnant women, and people with alcohol allergies should not eat it", but when the reporter asked the merchant with "there are elementary school students at home, can you buy and taste it", the other party replied that "primary school students can eat a small amount".
Strengthen supervision and standardize sales
Fulfill family education responsibilities
Many parents suggested that to avoid minors from touching alcoholic ice cream, it is necessary to start by regulating the sale of alcoholic ice cream. "Now children have pocket money, ice cream is their favorite, and the packaging and advertising of alcoholic ice cream are very attractive, it is difficult to stop children from buying it" "Some shops near schools are selling alcoholic ice cream, how can parents keep an eye on it," said the interviewed parents.
Regarding the phenomenon of selling alcoholic ice cream in commissaries near primary and secondary schools, many experts interviewed believe that the commissary's move violates the Law on the Protection of Minors and has substantial damage to minors. Beverages with an alcohol content of more than 0.5% vol are classified as alcoholic beverages, and the prohibition of sales to minors shall apply.
According to Zhang Li, a professor at the School of Civil and Commercial Law of Southwest University of Political Science and Law and the person in charge of the home-school collaborative training base for youth legal literacy, even alcoholic ice cream with an alcohol content of less than 0.5% vol should be prohibited from being touched and eaten by children according to the "principle of the most beneficial to minors".
"The 0.5% vol here is only a macro-control standard determined by the state, which cannot be accurately applied to the judgment of the health risk of alcohol to individual minors, and the one-time consumption of ice cream with an alcohol content of less than 0.5% vol may also cause cumulative damage to the health of minors." Zhang Li said that regardless of whether the alcohol content of alcoholic ice cream is higher than 0.5% vol, minors should be vigilant.
"Compared with pure alcohol products, alcoholic ice cream is more attractive to minors and the risks are more hidden, and it is recommended to improve relevant laws and regulations, and when selling alcoholic ice cream offline, minors must be explicitly prohibited from buying." Li Fei proposed that the supervision of the sales process of alcoholic ice cream should be strengthened, the responsibility of sellers should be strengthened, and sellers should be required to set up signs in a conspicuous position that "the product contains alcohol and must not be sold to minors" or clearly inform this information at the time of sale.
Zhang Bufeng believes that businesses should do the following when selling alcoholic ice cream: in accordance with the national label standards for ethanol-containing drinks, indicate the alcohol concentration, the warning words of "excessive drinking is harmful to health" on the packaging interface, and the reminder that "the product contains alcohol, minors, pregnant women and people with alcohol allergies should not eat it". Place a sign prominently on the shop that says "No sale of alcohol to minors".
"If a merchant wants to sell homemade alcoholic ice cream, he must first obtain the relevant qualifications and permits for brewing, and fulfill the relevant obligations of selling alcoholic ice cream on the premise of qualification." Zhang Bufeng said.
The reporter noticed that there are some alcohol-flavored ice creams on the market, and the merchants claim that they add food additives to have a wine flavor, but they do not contain alcohol. On the one hand, the use of additives will bring health risks to the growth and development of minors even if they meet national standards, on the other hand, the taste of alcohol may trigger minors' curiosity and yearning for alcohol, causing bad induction to minors.
He also proposed that producers should avoid publicizing alcoholic ice cream with "imitation packaging" in mass media, public places, etc.; Businesses in areas around schools and kindergartens should be prohibited from selling such alcoholic ice cream; If such products are sold elsewhere, they should be placed in the alcohol and tobacco sales area, not mixed with ordinary ice cream, and prevent minors from touching such ice cream.
Experts interviewed believe that parents should educate and guide minors not to consume alcoholic ice cream, which falls within the scope of parents' guardianship duties for the education protection of minors stipulated in the Law on the Protection of Minors and the Family Education Promotion Law.
"In terms of family education, parents should be vigilant against the alcoholic properties of alcoholic ice cream, must not let alcoholic ice cream play the 'edge ball' of ice cream, educate minors to understand the harm of alcohol, damage to physical health such as brain nerves, liver and kidney function, warn minors of the fact that 'drinking is easy to give birth to right and wrong', so that minors actively stay away from alcohol and its derivative products." Zhang Li said.