Belgian customs destroy beers over 'Champagne' use

Belgian customs this week destroyed more than 2,000 cans of Miller High Life advertised as ″The champagne of beers" at the request of houses and growers of the bubbly wine. The Comité Champagne - the interprofessional body protecting the Champagne designation - asked for the destruction of a shipment of 2,352 cans on the grounds that the term infringes the protected designation of origin “Champagne.”

The consignment was intercepted in the Belgian port of Antwerp in early February, a spokesperson at the Belgian Customs Administration said on Friday, and was destined for Germany.The European Union has a system of protected geographical designations created to guarantee the true origin and quality of artisanal food, wine and spirits, and protect them from imitation.