Issue:
A public civil lawsuit [ação civil pública] against Vinícola Perini questioning the absence of information on sodium and calories contents on wine bottles' labels.
Summary:
The former National Association in Defense of Citizenship and Consumers [Associação Nacional de Defesa da Cidadania e do Consumidor (ANADEC)] filed a public civil lawsuit [ação civil pública] against Vinícola Perini. In this case, the petitioner argued that the company violated the right to information under the Consumer Defense Code. The reason was that wine bottles lacked information on sodium content or calories on their labels.
The first instance judge ruled against ANADEC, which appealed the decision. Following that, the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of ANADEC, reversing the first instance decision. The legal reasoning was the right of clear and accurate information, which it is protected by the Federal Constitution and the Brazilian consumer law. However, Vinícola Perini has appealed agains, which ultimately led the case to the Superior Court of Justice [Superior Tribunal de Justiça – STJ]. After all, the STJ applied the specialty principle and decided that the Consumer Defense Code did not apply to this situation. According to the Court, there is an specific law that regulates wine production. Moreover, the Rappouteur has argued that this specific law does not require winemakers to include information on sodium and calories contents on the labels of wine bottles.