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recent releases from Leicester Shire Development Agency, Business Link for Leicestershire and Business Link Lincolnshire & Rutland | 
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22 November 2002
NEWS RELEASE
PACKAGING REVIEW COULD SPELL CHANGES FOR
LEICESTERSHIRE MANUFACTURERS
A review of the current restrictions on packaging sizes could give consumers and manufacturers in Leicestershire more choice in the future.
The European Commission is carrying out an extensive impact assessment to try and decide if there is any need to 'fix' a mandatory range of packaging sizes, to allow a few quantities and exclude all others. The Euro Info Centre at Business Link for Leicestershire is inviting interested parties to share their views on the subject.
Traditionally sizes have been restricted in many sectors, including spirits, coffee extracts and sugar, but recent developments suggest that free sizes are vital to innovation and competitiveness. In addition, the shift towards smaller households and more individually oriented consumption patterns has already led to a reduction in packaging sizes by up to 50 per cent.
Sarah Wilson, Euro Info Centre manager, said, "The EU seems over-regulated compared to the rest of the world in this field and since EU unit pricing has come into force there is less need for consumer protection in this way. Freeing up packaging sizes would encourage healthy competition and discourage stagnation in the packaging industry.
"There are however exceptions to the rule, especially in inflexible packaging materials such as glass wine or champagne bottles. Care must be taken to ensure that in these cases, the rules protect small manufacturers and retailers do not force them to produce different sized packaging at a loss."
The consultation is open until January 31 2003 on http://europa.eu.int/yourvoice and http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/prepack/
Ends
For further media information
CONTACT Kate Downs on 0116 254 4472
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