"Health & Medical News"

A proposed new nutrition information panel for alcoholic beverages should include alcohol-content information instead of relegating such disclosures to a smaller and less-visible part of drink packaging, and producers also should be required to provide a list of ingredients in their products, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) says.

The consumer watchdog group issued a list of recommendations in response to the a request for comments on the labeling proposal issued by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). (The comment period ended Jan. 27.)

Issued in 2007, the TTB’s notice of proposed rulemaking included a requirement for alcohol-content information to be disclosed, as a percentage of volume, on packaging for all alcoholic beverages, including beer and all wine. Previously, such information only was required for liquor and some wines.

However, the proposed rule allows manufacturers to place the alcohol-content information “on the proposed Serving Facts panel or on any label of the container (except the cap or bottom).” The Serving Facts panel proposed by TTB would be required to include serving size; servings per container; calories, carbohydrate, fat, and protein per serving. A list of ingredients would not be required.

“There is no requirement that alcohol-content information appear on the proposed Serving Facts label,” stressed the TTB. Companies also would be allowed to express alcohol content in fluid ounces as long as they also list alcohol content by volume.

The TTB’s proposed rule also leaves open the possibility that Serving Facts information could be printed in a linear fashion rather than in a distinct information box.

“These labels should benefit consumers, not industry,” said CSPI alcohol policies director George A. Hacker. “Consumers need information about calories, to help watch their weight; alcohol content, to help measure their drinking; and ingredients, to help comparison shop on the basis of quality and allergens.”

Top Priority

A survey by Shape Up America released this week found that 79 percent of Americans agreed with the statement, “There is no point in having labeling on the containers of alcohol beverages unless labels include all nutrition and ingredient information, including the amount of alcohol in each drink.”

Consumers ranked alcohol content as their top priority (92 percent) for inclusion on alcoholic beverage labels, followed by caloric-content information (84 percent). Fewer said that carbohydrate, fat and protein information was important.

The survey also found that 79 percent of those surveyed said that alcohol labels should include a summary of the federal dietary guidelines for moderate alcohol consumption. The TTB proposal does not include any reference to the dietary guidelines.

“Although TTB believes this amount of information will confuse consumers, our survey clearly shows that when it comes to labeling information, consumers are savvy about using labels as information tools,” said Barbara J. Moore, Ph.D., president of Shape Up America. “There is an immediate need for clear and complete information on alcohol labels and consumers should have access to it as soon as possible.”

CSPI called on TTB to conduct more detailed research on how consumers use information labels before issuing its final rulemaking.

Hacker said that the TTB’s proposal to allow alcohol content to be listed in fluid ounces is a concession to liquor companies, while the beer industry has been the major opponent of listing alcohol content in the Serving Facts panel. CSPI also opposes including fat and protein information on alcohol labels, noting that few alcoholic beverages actually include these ingredients.

“While it’s good news that the Bush Administration has begun a rule-making on alcohol labeling, it’s a shame that it’s proposed a confusing scheme that advances the public relations objectives of the industry more than it does the public’s health or the convenience of consumers,” said Hacker.

In its proposed rule, TTB bases the serving-size information in the Serving Facts panel on separate standards for beer, wine and liquor. For example, a serving of wine from a bottle containing 14 percent or less alcohol by volume would be defined as 5 fluid ounces, the same as for distilled spirits with no more than 10 percent alcohol by volume and malt beverages with alcohol content higher than 10 percent alcohol. For beers with alcohol content under 10 percent, the serving size would be 12 ounces.

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