Today, the government has responded to the imperial units consultation 16 months after it closed. Despite a consultation document banging the drum for the imperial system and a biased survey with leading questions designed to get the answers pro-imperial ministers wanted, respondents were almost unanimous in rejecting a greater use of imperial units. In response to the overwhelming rejection of government plans to bring back imperial units, the government has decided against any legislative changes.
This means that the metric measurement rules will remain. The reasons given by the government in their own words are:
“Ultimately, it was decided that the arguments against making any changes, including arguments concerning consumer confusion, increased costs for businesses, and barriers to international trade, taken together with the overwhelming response against the increased use of imperial measures, outweighed the arguments in favour.”
The results of the government’s analysis show that 98.7% favoured metric units, either as the primary unit (maintaining the status quo) or as the only units. Only 1.3% favoured a greater use of imperial units. The breakdown of responses is shown in the following table:
| Overall Preference | No. of Responses | % of Responses |
|---|---|---|
| Status quo (keep metric as primary unit of measurement) | 81 867 | 81.1% |
| More choice (open to increased use of imperial measures) | 870 | 0.9% |
| Purely metric (completely metric system) | 17 798 | 17.6% |
| Purely imperial (completely imperial system) | 403 | 0.4% |
| Total | 100 938 | 100% |
Among key stakeholders the government had direct engagement with, 84.0% opposed any further choice over units of measurement in sales. Among the rest (16.0%) that supported further choice, most of them insisted that a compulsory metric equivalent should always be provided, and others said that any change should not be mandatory for business.
The results are a humiliating defeat for the government. They were determined to bring back imperial units and designed a survey to lead respondents to give them the answers they wanted to hear. No wonder the government took so long to publish its response to the consultation. They were probably reluctant to reveal the overwhelming opposition to their plans and admit defeat. We can assume that they chose to release it during the quiet holiday season for this reason.
Further reading:
- https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/choice-on-units-of-measurement-markings-and-sales
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-67795075 (“Metric measurement rules to stay after Brexit review” by Paul Seddon, BBC News, 27 December 2023)
- https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/johnsons-imperial-measurements-scrapped-pints-champagne-return-2824940 (“Johnson’s imperial measurements plan scrapped – but pints of champagne will return” by Hugo Gye, inews.co.uk, 27 December 2023)
- https://westenglandbylines.co.uk/business/metric-is-here-to-stay/ (“Metric is here to stay” by Peter Burke, West England Bylines, 29 December 2023)
Metric Views 
The BBC news story’s original headline was “Metric measurement rules to stay after Brexit review”, but this was changed during the morning to “Pint-sized bottles of wine to be sold after Brexit review” (a headline less embarassing to the Government).
The 2 versions of the webpage are archived at web.archive.org :
“Metric measurement rules to stay after Brexit review”
https://web.archive.org/web/20231227040109/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-67795075
“Pint-sized bottles of wine to be sold after Brexit review”
https://web.archive.org/web/20231227112315/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-67795075
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“Pint-sized bottles of wine to be sold after Brexit review”
Well, this is the Fake News Media in its glory. It is actually an outright lie. What company has stated they will begin selling wine in “pint” sizes? I know that one company a few years ago produced 800 bottles in 500 mL bottles, none in 570 mL bottles. The 570 mL bottle not only does not exist, there are no moulds anywhere to produce it. The moulds would be extremely costly to produce and no one is going to produce them for a limited market with no guarantee of profitable sales.
Sparkling wine needs a minimum of 3 years to ferment in the bottles. The 500 mL bottles already produced should be ready for the market in 2024 at the earliest. The Fake News Media is promising 570 mL bottles next year (meaning 2024). But if they were to produce a 570 mL bottle next year, it won’t be marketable until at least 2027.
It seems when media and government members scream pints they are thinking of the 570 mL size, but the industry people are thinking 500 mL.
I can’t help wonder how much whining, pouting and screaming will occur when those 800 x 500 mL bottles hit the market and everyone begins to realise these are the 570 mL bottles they were hoping for.
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Maybe the British people have started to realise that the Metric system is a global system not just an EU one? Also nobody’s going to ask for a pint of wine, they’re going to ask for a glass or a bottle, but regardless it’s good to hear that the British people are starting to accept that metric is a logical choice and who knows we might one day soon start seeing metric speed signs? Watch this space..
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The US Metric Association (USMA) just sent us an email letting us know about this about-face by the UK. government when it comes to the proposal to reintroduce Imperial units. The email also included links to an Irish news source and GB News to show how those news outlets described this latest volte-face by the UK government. What a fiasco. So much for the government dealing with the housing crisis, energy prices, the climate crisis, sewage in the water, etc etc.
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The US Metric Association (USMA) just sent us an email letting us know about this about-face by the UK. government when it comes to the proposal to reintroduce Imperial units. The email also included links to an Irish news source and GB News to show how those news outlets described this latest volte-face by the UK government. What a fiasco. So much for the government dealing with the housing crisis, energy prices, the climate crisis, sewage in the water, and all the other pressing problems that really matter.
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I am glad the government has had the decency to publish the results of this survey, albeit tucked away at the quiet end of the year when many people will have other things on their mind rather than reading the news. This is a damning blow to the ridiculous idea of turning the clock back on how we measure things. All I hope now is that we get a new government soon that is progressive and forward-thinking enough to see that it makes no sense to show imperial units on road signs still when the whole economy, including the transport sector, is metric. What is needed now is a multi-annual programme to phase out imperial units on the roads and replace them with the metric units that are taught in school. UKMA has been talking about this for the last twenty years. It’s time has come.
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@UKMA
It will be interesting to see the launch of these ‘pint’ bottles. The local vineyard seems to be distancing themselves from the issue now.
Will they be imperial pints, American pints, metric (Sussex) pints or maybe a mix depending on what bottles they can find.
Whatever way it goes I hope it is a total commercial flop, they deserve it, along with all the other businesses that have called ‘foul’ because of the wrong kind of brexxxit.
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What does pint mean to the people in the wine industry? It means the exact opposite then what the enemies of the metric system in the government and Fake News Media are pushing. Pint means 500 mL and here is the proof:
Sarah Driver shares the real story behind the 50cl Bottle of Rathfinny Sparkling wine.
I thought I’d put the record straight and explain why we like the idea of the 50cl bottle of sparkling wine. I want to make you aware that we’ve been campaigning for the 50cl format, not an Imperial Pint, which is a redundant measure and is unlikely to ever take off in the wine trade because no-one makes a pint sixed bottle or uses pints. However, they do use 50cl bottles in still wine and we have been campaigning to close the anomaly that allows us to sell still wine in 50cl bottles but not sparkling wine.
Anyone who knows me will know my favourite drink has always been sparkling wine. I’m thrifty and not a big drinker so the idea of the a 50cl bottle containing four 125ml glasses is perfect for me as it’s an agreeable measure for a couple to share. Whilst I’ve learnt that you don’t have to finish a traditional 75cl bottle in one sitting (it stoppers well overnight and takes on new flavours), a smaller bottle is perfect for picnics, kicking off an evening and favoured by health-conscious drinkers.
It will also be bottle aged and fermented, unlike many half (37.5cl) bottles which are generally filled by the transfer method from a larger bottle and therefore not considered to be of the same quality.
We’ve talked about this since we established the Vineyard in 2010 – we’ve always loved the idea of it. Furthermore, it’s a gorgeous bottle, won’t cost as much and will make a lovely token gift. In fact, if the legislation does pass in our favour, our first release will be a true collector’s item as we only bottled a few hundred!
I’ve never understood why this measure for sparkling wine is not allowed in Europe, where sparkling wine can only be sold in 37.5cl, 75cl and multiples of 75cl bottles. After all we have, 50cl sized bottles of still wine. Whilst some commentators have said it will never catch on, I guarantee that many will be looking at this development with interest. In the meantime, if other English Sparkling houses follow suit, this could really put the English wine industry on the global map, making it, at least for a time, something specific to our small nascent industry.
So, there we have it, the truth behind our idea for introducing a 50cl sized bottle of sparkling wine. We look forward to the legislation changing and you being able to try for yourselves and decide if you agree with us that it’s the perfect sized bottle to share.
https://rathfinnyestate.com/about/news/the-real-story-behind-the-pint-of-rathfinny-sparkling-wine/?fbclid=IwAR1eebDW7074PQhheMXxpIzz5o0F00fPesNGY4hbSuseGAKhHXFYpI1TeUs
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I’m glad this has been defeated. The government should be working to phase out any remaining use of dual format units in supermarkets and other shops, in favour of purely metric signage. People have had many decades to get used to using metric units in daily life and of it being taught in schools, it is long overdue for the switchover to be completed so we can use the same system as the vast majority of the world. I doubt very many people under the age of 30 even know what a “pint” is, other than the association with alcohol. I don’t and to be honest I don’t care.
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I expect trhe Government has not bothered to provide any ‘official’ reason(s) why it took so long for the results/analysis of this ‘wonky’ consultation to be published.
Also I expect it also failed to provide any responses to the comments/criticisms etc. about about this biased survey.
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Most things can be sold in any size. Some must be sold in fixed sizes called ‘specified quantities’.
Current UK law (matches EU law) is summarised at: https://www.gov.uk/weights-measures-and-packaging-the-law/specified-quantities
In 2006 (before brexit) the EU abolished fixed sizes on many things. Alcohol sizes were amended but not abolished. The sizes included anomalies and incompatibilities. For example 500 ml is permitted for still wine but not sparkling wine. Secondly, the EU and the US have mutually incompatible fixed sizes: EU permits 700 ml and forbids 750 ml for spirits; US law in 2006 permitted 750 ml and forbade 700 ml for spirits. US law was updated in 2020 to permit 700 ml but there is still a mismatch at 750 ml and possibly other sizes.
The UK government has reduced the number of anomalies by increasing the alignment of 200 ml and 500 ml sizes for still and sparkling wine. I suspect traders will want the same to happen in the EU. The new 568 ml size is a UK-only anomaly. Despite the government’s bold claim:
* “Brits will soon be able to purchase ‘pint’ sized bottles of still and sparkling wine, as a new 568ml size is introduced to Britain’s supermarket shelves, pubs, clubs and restaurants”
I suspect it will be rare, just as the 568 ml size beer bottle (which has always been permitted) is now rare.
Frankly I think the UK (and the EU) should abolish fixed sizes for alcohol. Prepacked beer sizes are already unregulated.
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It is interesting to note that the results of the consultation are summarised as four preferences. This does not match the structure of the consultation questionnaire, which had four groups, viz. All, Businesses, Consumers and Trading Standards. On the Consumers group, question 3a was widely criticised in that it did not present a preference for sale in metric units only.
Yet opinion has percolated through that 17.6% of respondents would prefer metric only. Opinion has completely overwhelmed the biassed nature of this consultation. If this is not a message to the government that the public favours moving forward with metric measures, then I do not know what is.
It is a pity that some factions within the government persist in banging the imperial drum with pyrrhic proposals to legalise pint bottles of champagne or guidance to traders on permitted usage of imperial markings. Neither of these was asked for.The first of these is unlikely to happen – I doubt whether the French champagne producers could make a business case of this, given the up-front cost of producing bottles in a new size, and the attendant time period of fermenting in the bottle before sales could take place to recover the original investment. The second will have no effect. Decent traders, in direct contact with consumers, are already applying imperial guidelines where they see them to be desirable and do not need further advice from the government. The main area where imperial dual-marking is still widely used seems to be clothing.
The sensible thing for the government to look at next would be a plan and strategy to metricate road signs. It can no longer use feeble excuses like, “The public is not ready for it yet.”
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If the “pints of wine” thing is all about returning to the “good old days” of imperial, then why is the Government saying that we never had pints of wine in the past?
“‘Pints’ of wine stocked on Britain’s shelves for the first time ever”
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pints-of-wine-stocked-on-britains-shelves-for-the-first-time-ever
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The new Government advice at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/choice-on-units-of-measurement-markings-and-sales/outcome/choice-on-units-of-measurement-guidance-on-markings-and-sales is a disgrace as they seem to be going out of their way to perpetuate the confusion that has ruled for the last 50 years. Their advice also failed to make it clear that in the event of a discrepancy between metric and imperial units, metric units take precedence. The advice also failed to mention that the products concerned must be weighed on a scale that is calibrated in metric units.
When the decision was made to metricate in 1965, the Government of the day would have done well to have heeded the saying “That which I hear, I will forget, that which I see, I will remember and that which I do I will understand”. They failed to do this and the advice given by the present government looks like they are doing their level best to magnify that failure.
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Nothing says ‘sophistication’ & ‘style’ better than a pint of wine.
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This is utter bollux from the government web page:
“[S]ome people would welcome greater use of imperial units in domestic trade and have set out below the conditions under which the current legislation permits this.”
What a lame pretext for perpetuating Imperial units. As for this bit:
“We commonly refer to our walks in miles, our fuel economy in miles per gallon and height in feet and inches.”
The sole reason for miles and miles per gallon is because road signs were kept in Imperial. The experience of Ireland and Canada both demonstrate conclusively that conversion of road signs to metric only fosters the disappearance of “miles”, which would lead to the disappearance of walks in “miles” and fuel economy in “miles per gallon” (never mind that petrol is sold in “litres” and not “gallons” anyway).
As for height in feet and inches, a decent government campaign to educate the population to use “metres” (and *NOT* metres plus centimetres, please) for height and kilograms (no more “stones”, please!) for weight would gain immediate traction with young folks and then percolate through the population, especially if all official documents and news reports used “metres” and “kilograms” exclusively.
The government numpties create this metric muddle and then use the muddle as a pretext to perpetuate Imperial units. What fatuous thinking! <:-0
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BrianAC,
They will be metric pints of 500 mL. See this link for proof:
https://rathfinnyestate.com/about/news/the-real-story-behind-the-pint-of-rathfinny-sparkling-wine/?fbclid=IwAR1eebDW7074PQhheMXxpIzz5o0F00fPesNGY4hbSuseGAKhHXFYpI1TeUs
Excerpt:
I thought I’d put the record straight and explain why we like the idea of the 50cl bottle of sparkling wine. I want to make you aware that we’ve been campaigning for the 50cl format, not an Imperial Pint, which is a redundant measure and is unlikely to ever take off in the wine trade because no-one makes a pint sized bottle or uses pints. However, they do use 50cl bottles in still wine and we have been campaigning to close the anomaly that allows us to sell still wine in 50cl bottles but not sparkling wine.
If only those in the news media would read Sarah Driver’s comment, then they would (maybe) stop harping on about the imperial pint.
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A good result generally, but disappointing in that only 17.6% of the responses supported Purely Metric (completely metric system). Maybe if the consultation had not been so biased to Imperial, this response may have been higher. It needs to be considerably higher to support any further advancement of metric measurements.
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@John G
There was no “purely metric” option when I responded to the consultation.
Question 3a asked,
“If you had a choice, would you want to purchase items (i) in imperial units? or (ii) in imperial units alongside a metric equivalent”
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/sep/18/metric-system-imperial-measures-consultation-brexit
https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/uk-news/jacob-reesmogg-imperial-measuresments-b2170502.html
https://osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/blog/weights-and-measures-how-consultations-relate-to-osrs-role/
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Colin said : “Nothing says ‘sophistication’ & ‘style’ better than a pint of wine”.
Except that those in the industry understand a “pint” of wine to mean 500 mL. Do you understand it this way as well?
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@ m says: 2023-12-29 at 14:15
There was no “purely metric” option when I responded to the consultation.
Indeed so, the original version was awful. Even these figures are fake and fiddled and not in our favour for sure.
I am not sure how I responded, but I was probably one of the 107 discards, knowing then that it was just a gimmick exercise and they would do exactly as they pleased anyway, proven correct to my post at that time.
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After around fifty years of encouraging metrication in my immediate work environment and occasionally writing letters/emails to the media and organisations on this subject,plus avidly following UKMA’s great work, after this week’s government climb down, it now feels like the tide has finally turned.
I came to this conclusion when I read the comments this week on the Daily Mail website for the Peter Hitching’s ‘pint of fizz’ articles about the government announcement on their ‘consultation’. If anyone has any doubts about the strength of public opinion in favour of metrication, then I suggest you read these comments.
I’d like to think that UKMA has played a part in this, but I doubt if many of the 1000 + people who posted comments, many of which ridiculed the articles and government, have ever heard of UKMA.
It seems to me that politicians have avoided any major initiatives to complete metrication for fear of a backlash from the public. Well now we know that, with the passage of time, much of this opposition has evaporated as evidenced by the results of this consultation, which at 99% against the proposal, surely should justify a place in the Guinness Book of Records?
It feels like UKMA is now pushing against an open door and I look forward to seeing significant progress in the next few years.
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“English wine producers unlikely to adopt ‘redundant’ pint option”
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/dec/29/english-wine-producers-unlikely-to-adopt-redundant-pint-option
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On 15 December I gave a lecture to the local U3A Science and Technology Group entitled “History of the Metric System”. At 00:01 on 27 December, the Government published the results of the Imperial Unit Consultation. Later on that morning, my wife and I joined friends for drinks. John and Sue, who were at my lecture were also among the guests and they made a comment about my lecture. I then told them of the morning’s developments and they, my wife and our hostess had a short discussion about the use of the metric system.
Looking at the results on the Government consultation and also of other surveys over the years, I think that our hostess expressed the general view of the British public “I use whatever units are quoted in the recipe”. In other words, the opposition to metrication is not amongst the general public, but rather a vocal element who have the ear of the editor of the Daily Express and the Daily Mail. Instead, the general public does not want to be hassled by change.
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English wine producers unlikely to adopt ‘redundant’ pint option
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/dec/29/english-wine-producers-unlikely-to-adopt-redundant-pint-option
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Tim Bentley,
Whenever I click on a link and encounter an anti-metric article, I stop reading and immediately scroll down to the comments section to look for the pro-metric comments and do notice they by far out-number any comments supporting the feelings expressed in the article.
I often wonder if the authors and editors of these articles ever read the comments and get the feeling they are fighting a losing battle. Maybe many do and as a result many articles are no longer offering a comment section.
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Our chair, Peter Burke, has written a feature on the Government’s imperial measurement units consultation. It was published in the West England Bylines today:
“Metric is here to stay”
https://westenglandbylines.co.uk/business/metric-is-here-to-stay/
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The Government’s response to the result of their Units of measurement cosultation was: “Analysis of consultation responses shows that while a small minority would welcome greater choice and flexibility in the units used for domestic trade, the majority of respondents expressed limited or no appetite for increased use of imperial measures.”…… A small minority???? What an understatement! 0.9% wanted increased use of imperial measures and 0.4% wanted a complete return to imperial measures. That is a TINY minority. It’s not even worth thinking about. But the Government’s response goes on to state: “To support this, we are publishing new guidance that will raise awareness of the current freedoms that exist to display imperial units alongside a more prominent metric equivalent and encourage and support traders to consider their use.”…… So more money wasted on top of the huge (undisclosed)
cost of the original survey for a futile exercise to appease a tiny minority of headbangers. It’s a farce.
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@Cliff
All the Tories can come up with are pints of champagne and non-existent flights of refugees to Rwanda. A total farce, indeed. Meantime, good luck swimming in or drinking the water or being able to both feed your family and keep them warm with indoor heat this winter (and maybe afford to pay your increased mortgage or rent?). Yikes!
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It is a bit biased to say that 99% are against imperial measurements, the survey reported 81% to keep the status quo, many people probably just thought that meant to keep the mix of both we currently have. I think this is more likely given the number of polls, for example yougov’s that show there is still about an even split between the systems.
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Since some member(s) of the government pushed out a “pint” size for wines even though the majority of people don’t want it, can we supporters of metric units demand a compromise? That is, they can have their 570 mL of wine on the books, but in return we want road signs metricated.
Is this a fair trade-off?
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Zak Yore,
Not anymore biased than the consultation questions. The people who put out the consultation are the ones who provided the results. I was surprised to see the results the way they came out as I expected the government officials who created the consultation to have lied and told us the people want to return to imperial. I’m glad though to see almost 100 % of the respondents chose to remain metric.
Those in the country that are economically successful don’t want to go back to the 17-th century.
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@Daniel Jackson
Alas, I see no chance of the Tory government converting road signs. If Labour (or whomever they pick to run DfT) can be persuaded to convert those signs to metric, that will be the tipping point to finish off Imperial in the UK. Fingers crossed that this can be brought about during the next Parliament.
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@Daniel Jackson
No chance Tories will convert road signs to metric. Let’s hope the Labour government has the wisdom to do just that and put the final nail into the Imperial coffin.
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punditgi,
Political parties are not sentient beings and neither can make decisions or choose metric over imperial. Real people among the group make those decisions. What we need to do is find real people within either party who are supporters of metrication and its completion and would under the right guidance help bring it about.
I can’t believe that every representative and minister in the government is anti-metric. There has to be someone and hopefully more than just one or a few. Even if the majority were neutral and held no bias either way wouldn’t they see the advantage of working to bring about the completion of metrication?
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“How 99,665 Brits Just Saved the Metric System in the UK”
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@m
Absolutely brilliant, the only YouTube video I have ever watched in full.
Roll on the French, German, Chinese and Russian versions.
UK must be the laugh of the world for 2024, thank you so much Sir Jacob William Rees-Mogg for the entertainment.
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m,
This guy is completely wrong on what he says about wine. He needs to be fact checked. The 568 mL bottle (actual fill would be 570 mL) will not be available on the shelves. The wine producers have made that quite clear.
A spokesman for Rathfinny stated:
“We don’t understand why the government has introduced a pint measure for wine after consulting the industry and being told that no one seems to favour going back to imperial measures,” Mark Driver, a co-owner of the estate, told the Guardian.”
I find it amazing that the media keeps harping on about pints of wine showing up in the market.
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Paragraph 4.5 of the original consultation read:
“There will be a separate Government review on specified quantities relating to the measurements wines and liquors are legally sold in. This legislative area does not fall within the remit of this consultation”.
Was this review held in private? If so, was it held before or after the results of the original consultation were known? If before, why could the government not wait until after the results of the consultation were known. If afterwards, why did they not heed the consultation.
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“By any yardstick, metric units beat imperial”
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/jan/04/by-any-yardstick-metric-units-beat-imperial
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“By any yardstick, metric units beat imperial”
Brilliant headline – and it shows that using metric units does not the end of the historical use of words or phrases such as yardstick, milestone, fathom something out, pound of flesh, etc.
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“By any yardstick, metric units beat imperial”
Brilliant headline – and it shows that using metric units does not mean the end of the historical use of words or phrases such as yardstick, milestone, fathom something out, pound of flesh, etc.
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I’m curious about something. If 81 % of the people want the status quo to remain, what does this mean? Does status quo mean keeping the laws as is? Then what about enforcement? The laws state that food must be sold in metric units on certified scales and advertised with metric prominent and imperial if desired in a smaller font. Many are ignoring this law and the authorities are turning a blind eye to it?
Or does status quo mean keeping the laws as they are but not enforcing them? Depending on how we interpret status quo it could mean shops will either have to comply with the existing laws or be free to ignore laws they don’t like.
If shop keepers are allowed to break the laws concerning certified scales and advertisements, then why can’t everyone else be allowed to break any law they don’t like and get away with murder?
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Daniel, it is all of those. It is a typical catch all cop out of mix and match.
Carry on breaking the laws if you get away with it as now, and carry on with all our lovely mixed muddled units if it helps with your sales figures.
It has nothing to do with improving the lives of the street plebs.
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Brian,
I would agree with you that if those members of the government hadn’t tried to force a return to imperial via a consultation the status quo could go any which way. But, since they did and their deception back-fired on them, resulting a large number of the plebs supporting the metric system, I personally think the status quo can be and should be interpreted to mean that any law existing requiring metric usage should be enforced.
I hope the UKMA rakes the opportunity set into their laps and enquirers and pressure members of the Trading Standards that the results of the consultation give them the authority to being enforcing the existing law on certified scales and pricing in metric units.
The UKMA should be able to turn the consultation results into an advantage. But, I guess firstly we all need to determine what status quo actually mean at least from a legal point of view.
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There is already a company selling sparkling ‘cyder’ in 568ml (pint) bottles at just £35.00/pint! They are using the Churchill connection in their marketing.
https://shop.thenewtinsomerset.com/uk/p/1243/the-winston-sparkling-cyder
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Victory for tradition! But at that price I can’t envisage it becoming a mainstream product.
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Given how quickly this came to market, one might wonder if the business behind this had friends in government who had either given them advanced warning that this would happen or had been actively lobbying for this particular business. If one were conspiracy-minded of course. That’s forgetting the fact that, despite the announcement, surely this hasn’t actually been signed into law yet so is possibly technically still not legal?
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“There are no specified quantities for packaged beer or cider”
https://www.gov.uk/weights-measures-and-packaging-the-law/specified-quantities
Most beer and cider, in bottles and cans, come in round metric sizes, but 568 ml bottles have been available for some time:
https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/264070707
The legislation for new specified quantities for wine has not been introduced yet, but if being able to buy “Imperial” Champagne in “shrinkflation-sized” 568 ml bottles (instead of 750 ml bottles) is the only “benefit of Brexit”, then I think Brexit is in serious trouble.
https://threshers.co.uk/collections/champagne/products/moet-chandon-imperial-brut-champagne-750ml
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According to the people who produce the sparkling wines, the 568 mL (570 mL fill) bottle does not exist, neither do the moulds needed to produce them exist. So, would they be able to use the existing bottle used for cider or do they need a different bottle?
Also, is 568 mL a legal fill for a pint defined as 568.26125 mL. I don’t know how the law works in England, but in the US a claim of 568 mL when 568.26125 mL is intended would be illegal and classified as an under-fill. I know this isn’t a real problem since the filling machines can’t do either 568 mL or 568.26125 mL and actually fill to 570 mL of which the customer is not short changed.
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Daniel,
I seem to remember from some years ago “someone” had a load of left over pint bottles and needed a use for them. I guess that is where this entire debacle started.
If I re-find the link I will post it.
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@Daniel
I would suspect that cider bottles would not be strong enough for Champagne, on account of the greater pressures in Champagne bottles.
Both of the proposed new bottle sizes for sparkling wine are metric (500 ml and 568 ml), not imperial. An optional supplementary indication in imperial would be permitted, so long as it was not more prominent than the metric value, but the legal value will be the metric one.
This situation would be similar to milk sold in 568 ml cartons, which usually have a supplementary indication of 1 pint.
The legal units for all packaged goods sold in the UK will continue to be metric (with the sole exception of milk sold in returnable containers).
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BrianAC,
I’m surprised any of these bottles would be left over. I can’t imagine how many would have been left over that would not have been used up by now. With a difference of only 70 mL, those bottles could have been used to fill 500 mL with no noticeable difference with a label stating 500 mL. This would have been an economical way to dispose of them. That is repurpose them until they were gone and then switch to a slightly smaller bottle for 500 mL. If this wasn’t done I can only imagine it was someone’s intent to keep the 570 mL pint alive and kicking.
m,
I had thought of that, but then read somewhere that some ciders are fizzy. But maybe those that are, aren’t fizzy enough or not as fizzy as champagne or sparking wines that those bottles can’t be used. Anyway, the people in the industry have already made the point that 570 mL bottles don’t exist, the moulds to produce them don’t exist and in their minds a “pint” means 500 mL and will always mean 500 mL and if they decide to produce that size, it will be in a 500 mL bottle.
Rathfinny produced 800 bottles of sparkling wine in the 500 mL size waiting to release it to the market in the next year or so. I wonder how much media reception it will get when those at the Fake Media Outlets discover their pint they were salivating over is really 500 mL and not 570 mL.
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Good to see that not everyone in the media tries to push the imperial agenda:
https://bylinetimes.com/2024/01/18/imperial-measurements-the-spurious-brexit-dividend-that-failed-to-divide/?fbclid=IwAR2VHlDwS_SQwKD7Hjr6cAAAb2tRojPl9FiZK_N_aihV0Ztki1arKYvQizU
Imperial Measurements: the Spurious Brexit Dividend that Failed to Divide
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