Three super-strength alcohol products have been cleared by The Portman Group, the drinks industry watchdog, following complaints from local authorities.

The Portman Group’s Independent Complaints Panel have not upheld Portsmouth City Council’s complaints about the packaging of 500ml K Cider (8.4% abv) and Oranjeboom (8.5% abv) promoting irresponsible drinking.

It also rejected a similar complaint from Medway Council regarding 500ml Crest Super (10% abv).

The councils argued that the products were not designed to be shared so encouraged consumers to drink the entire can in one serving, which exceeded a man’s recommended daily allowance and was twice as much as a woman’s recommended allowance.

However, the Panel noted that the current Chief Medical Officers’ guidelines did not contain a daily or single occasion drinking guideline.

“The Panel could not infer from the evidence presented to the CMOs by the Guidelines Development Group that 4.2 units on a single occasion was an immoderate (whether because of increased risk to health or safety or otherwise) level of drinking,” it added.