Braille must be incorporated into the labelling of products and consumer goods braille labelling

The Spanish Government intends to develop Law 4/2022, of February 25, on the protection of consumers and users against situations of social and economic vulnerability, which requires the labelling of consumer goods and products.

Two centuries after the invention of the Braille alphabet, a tactile writing and reading system made up of six points that fit on the tip of a finger and which made it possible to break the isolation of blind people, the Spanish Government is preparing the regulation on the labels of products and consumer goods, almost two years after said law was approved.

Thus, according to the project prepared by the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030, the basic information on products of special relevance, their name, categories or warnings of danger - such as allergies - must also appear in the Braille alphabet.

This is the objective of the draft royal decree, which is being finalised by Minister Pablo Bustinduy, which will regulate the accessible labelling of consumer products, in Braille and other formats, such as QR codes, and guarantee the protection of people with visual disabilities and vulnerable consumers.

Specifically, it is intended to apply to packaged products for general consumption (meat, fish, eggs, milk, coffee and preserves, among others), as well as to other products with risk potential or clearly dangerous, such as those related to hygiene, fertilisers, pesticides, glues, lighters and matches or gas cylinders.

The inclusive label will have to contain basic information, such as the name, nature, expiry date, best before date or allergens.

In addition, it must also display other data such as the name and address of the producing company, composition of the product, production date, nutritional information system and instructions for its correct use or consumption, according to the EFE agency.

In fact, Minister Bustinduy has repeatedly insisted on the urgency of approving regulations that allow everyday activities, such as shopping, "not to represent a structural barrier for hundreds of thousands" of people and that ensure the "right to full autonomy" of all citizens.

For the Minister responsible for Consumer Affairs, "it is not tolerable that a normal, necessary daily activity becomes something that could compromise the autonomy and safety of vulnerable consumers."

World Braille Day

There are around 36 million blind people or people with severe visual impairment in the world, while in our country there are more than 218,000 people who had reduced visual capacity as their first disability, according to Imserso data from 2022.

World Braille Day, celebrated on January 4, also marked the 200th anniversary of the invention of this alphabet, in 1825 by Louis Braille and whose impact is comparable to that of the invention of the printing press for the rest of humanity. This system marked a before and after in access to culture, education and daily life in general for blind people.

Law 4/2022 was approved at the request of the Spanish Committee of Representatives of People with Disabilities (CERMI), which proposed it in the Senate, and was fully assumed by the political groups.

It is precisely this regulation that incorporates in an additional provision the regulation of inclusive labelling, which established that “the Government, within one year from the entry into force of this law, will develop regulations for labelling in Braille, as well as in other formats that guarantee the universal accessibility of those consumer goods and products of special relevance for the protection of safety, integrity and quality of life, especially for blind and visually impaired people as vulnerable consumers”.

The Spanish legal system thus incorporates for the first time the obligation to include Braille in the labelling of mass consumption products. Now the Government is preparing the text of approval of a royal decree for the development of said law, in which the type of affected goods and the conditions under which it must be carried out will be determined, after exceeding and almost doubling the one-year period that had been given in the regulation itself.

The draft royal decree is the result of the Working Group formed by the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030, and CERMI, with the participation of ONCE.