False advertising can lead to destroyed cans as Belgian authorities demolished a large shipment of 2,352 cans of Miller High Life in Ypres, Belgium. Although the cans were labeled “The Champagne of Beers,” they weren’t actually champagne.
In an official statement by France’s Champagne Committee, the trade organization announced the beers were destroyed because they were considered forbidden goods. The statement also added the German recipient of the beer didn’t refute the decision.
Based on the statement, the container was destroyed with “the utmost respect for environmental concerns and was recycled in an environmentally responsible manner.”
Charles Goemaere, managing director of France’s Champagne Committee, said: “The importance that the European Union attaches to designations of origin and rewards the determination of the Champagne producers to protect their designation.” Goemaere praised the Belgian authorities for their attentiveness when it comes to quality control.
Kristian Vanderwaeren, Administrator of the Belgian Customs Service, addressed the beers as “counterfeit.” European regulations follow a strict standard that deems any goods that breach upon a “protected designation of origin of a member state are counterfeit goods.”
Since the 1980s, Champagne can only be used for wines produced in the region made through a regulated production process.