Shop in breach of Meas alcohol code

A Co Kildare supermarket has been found to be in technical breach of the code of practice for the promotion of alcoholic drink drawn up by the Meas organisation.

Eurospar in Barnhall was found to be in breach of the code because a display containing spirits was adjacent to one containing soft drinks and was highly visible.

The voluntary code of practice drawn up by Meas - the organisation which promotes responsible drinking - is supported by all the major drinks companies, publicans' organisations, the National Off-Licence Association, grocery body RGDATA and supermarkets including Tesco, Superquinn and the Musgrave Group.

In a statement yesterday, Meas said the finding against Eurospar arose from a complaint made by a member of the public. Its complaints panel had found that the clause in the code of practice which stipulated that reasonable effort must be made not to have alcoholic and soft drinks near each other had been breached.

Meas said the complainant maintained that the display should not have been in such a prominent position and that alcohol was exposed to any child or student from a nearby school who visited the supermarket for soft drinks.

Meas said the complaints panel had considered a number of points made by the store owner including that all spirits were stored behind a staffed counter to which customers had no access.

The owner had believed that placing spirits behind the counter where they were out of reach of customers was an appropriate distinction between soft drinks and alcoholic beverages.

The panel also regarded a "display of a kids' bench and stool set promotion" about the spirits display to be "inappropriate".

The Meas code is administered by a five-person panel which includes representatives of the National Parents Council, the Consumers Association, the drinks industry and an expert on issues concerning alcohol and society. It is chaired by Gordon Homes, who was chairman of the Liquor Licensing Commission.