These listening sessions were intended to engage the public, including consumers, public health stakeholders, and industry members of all sizes, and facilitate the public's ability to provide input to inform rulemaking.
There were five points of discussion:
1. Do consumers believe that they are adequately informed by the information currently provided on alcohol beverage labels?
2. Is alcohol content per serving, and nutritional information (such as calories, carbohydrates, protein, and fat) per serving important for consumers in deciding whether to purchase or consume a particular alcohol beverage? Would a full list of ingredients, and/or major food allergens, be important information for consumers in making their purchasing or consumption decisions? In what ways would this information be useful, and in what ways could it be misleading? Is some of this information more important than others?
3. What types of per-serving nutritional information, such as calories, carbohydrates, protein, and fat, should be included?
4. Would requiring this information on labels be expected to increase the cost of the products and, if so, by how much? To what extent are businesses already following voluntary guidelines for this information? Are there alternative ways of providing the information, for example by allowing information to be provided through a website using a quick response code (QR code) or website address on the label?
5. How would any new mandatory labeling requirements particularly affect small businesses and new businesses entering the marketplace?
The listening sessions were held on the 28th and the 29th of February. Full disclosure, I did not attend the virtual session, but my newsfeed contained a link to someone who did. W. Blake Gray posted TTB Listens to Wine Industry on March 1, 2024. Here is what he reported back in his article.
- Most consumers believe that they are not adquately informed by the information currently provided on an alcoholic beverage label
- Diabetics would like to see the amount of residual sugar reported on the label
- People with allergies expressed an interest in knowing what was in the alcoholic beverage; for example glycerin can be a life threatening allergen for some people
- Some wanted the calorie information to be on the label
- Small beer brewers expressed a concern that if information such as calorie content was required, the amount of changes that needed to be made to imprint a new can would be cost prohibitive
- W. Blake Gray opined that ingredient labeling would be good for the industry but he didn't see that nutritional content would be necessary
What are your thoughts?
References:
1. Labeling and Advertising of Wine, Distilled Spirits, and Malt Beverages With Alcohol Content, Nutritional Information, Major Food Allergens, and Ingredients.
2. W. Blake Gray, TTB Listens to Wine Industry, March 1, 2024.
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