Australia: Soy sauce and marinades to be taken off NT shelves to tackle alcohol abuse
By Kathleen Gazzola, Chief of Staff and Political Journalist
July 30, 2019
Soy sauce and other condiments could be banned from stores in the Northern Territory because they contain traces of alcohol, sparking claims over-regulation has become a farce.
The outrage comes after the NT’s Director-General of Licensing Sally Ozolins wrote to several retailers in Alice Springs warning them that a crackdown on the sale of alcohol meant some food products such as teriyaki sauce and some marinades could not be sold without a liquor license.
Ms Ozolins’ letter said products containing above 1.15 per cent ethyl alcohol by volume and in containers exceeding 50ml, such as cooking wine, plum wine and sake, could only be sold by outlets holding a liquor licence, and are subjected to a minimum floor price.
Soy sauce and some other condiments can contain low levels of alcohol because they are produced by fermentation, which can produce ethanol as a by-product.
“It has been brought to my attention that there may be retailers which are currently selling or offering for sale liquor products in unlicensed premises – also that there may be licensed retailers which are selling or offering for sale liquor products without scanning approved identification and at a price which does not comply with the minimum floor price,” Ms Ozolins’ letter says.
Products like mouth wash and vanilla essence have already been affected by the crackdown.
Retail Drinks Australia CEO Julie Ryan said the regulator’s stance was “farcical” and it had gone too far with efforts to try to prevent harm from the unsafe drinking of alcohol.
“Taking this logically, she is essentially asserting that every pharmacy, petrol station and supermarket in NT is in breach of the Liquor Act,” Ms Ryan said.
“It also means that no one may buy these products, or be supplied them, unless they are over 18 and scanned into the Banned Drinkers Register.
“Does this mean the end of honey soy satays bbq in the park, teenagers working in food outlets handling these products, and no ability to access any of these products if you are on the BDR?” she said.
A spokesperson from the NT Department of the Attorney General and Justice told 9News: “The Liquor Bill that is currently before Parliament creates a mechanism for the exemption of non-beverage type products so that they will not be subject to the Liquor Act going forward.”
The said the Bill is scheduled to commence on 1 October 2019 and that licensing NT are preparing for the implementation of the Bill when it passes, as a main priority.