The sobriety movement is now warning that a scrapped food requirement for the country’s pubs could lead to major damage to society.
– It will mean more overserving, more violence and more insecurity, says Lucas Nilsson, union chairman IOGT-NTO.
In Lindome outside Gothenburg is the microbrewery Odd Island Brewing, which brews approximately 300,000 liters of beer a year. They want to be able to serve some of the beer to guests at the brewery – but getting a serving license has cost them a lot.
In order to be able to serve alcohol, according to the alcohol law, you need to have your own kitchen and be able to serve cooked food in a varied range, which for Odd Island Brewing meant kitchen costs of several hundred thousand kroner and the salary of a chef who is hardly used.
– It has taken a large part of our income, which means that we cannot be open as much as we would like, says Peter Iwers, co-owner of the brewery.
The government is open to major changes
Last spring, a government investigation proposed some small changes to the food requirement. It was about, among other things, that instead of “a varied selection” it should be enough with “several delicious dishes” and that restaurants should be able to serve simpler dishes from 10 p.m. instead of the chef at 11 p.m.
The issue is on the government’s table, which now says it is willing to go even further than the investigation.
– I am no stranger to the fact that further relief may be required. It is important that these rules are reasonable in proportion to what you want to achieve and that they do not complicate things unnecessarily for companies, says Minister of Social Affairs Jakob Forssmed.
The temperance movement’s warning
The Minister of Social Affairs does not want to say whether it is appropriate to drop the food requirement completely, something that has been requested by several industry organisations. But regardless, it worries the sobriety organization IOGT-NTO.
– If you remove the food requirement, more actors will come in whose business idea is only to sell as much alcohol as possible. It will mean that there will be more over-serving, more violence and more insecurity, says Lucas Nilsson, union chairman at IOGT-NTO.
He emphasizes that the government investigation determined that the food requirement has a positive effect in reducing the harm caused by alcohol.
– Then I think it’s strange that the government is thinking something else, says Lucas Nilsson.