New study finds alcohol industry fails on nutrition, ingredient transparency

A study by researchers at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, published yesterday in Public Health Nutrition, examined whether product labels from the top 150 beer, 150 spirits, and 150 wine brands sold in the United States contained information about calorie, nutrient, and ingredient content in 2021.

CSPI researchers Eva Greenthal, Sarah Sorscher, and Aviva Musicus found that only 28% of beer brands, 12% of spirits brands, and not a single wine brand applied the federal government's voluntary Serving Facts label for beer, wine, and spirits, which is similar to the Nutrition Facts label for foods and is the current gold standard for nutrition transparency on alcoholic beverages. That voluntary label was established by the Treasury Department's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) in 2013 following a 2003 CSPI petition seeking a mandatory label.

Unlike nearly all other foods and beverages, basic information such as calories, ingredients, and nutritional content is not currently required on labels for most alcoholic beverages. A 2024 nationally representative poll of 1,500 U.S. adults who drink alcohol found that the majority want more information on alcohol labels.

While labeling of most foods and non-alcoholic beverages in the U.S. is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, labeling of beer, wine, and spirits is regulated by the TTB. In 2016, several major beer companies joined the Beer Institute's Brewers' Voluntary Disclosure Initiative, committing to provide "a serving facts statement consistent with TTB's guidelines" on product labels by the end of 2020.

Unfortunately, the new study found that among brands that signed on to this initiative, only 34% used the full Serving Facts label (whereas 87% had just part of the Serving Facts label-the statement of average analysis- which includes calorie, carb, fat, and protein content but not serving size, servings per container, alcohol content, or the words "Serving Facts").

The study also found that only 17% of beer brands and no spirits or wine brands provided full ingredients lists on their labels. This is particularly concerning given the wide range of food additives that can be added to alcoholic beverage products, as well as the use of ingredients derived from egg, milk, fish, and other ingredients that pose serious risks to the millions of U.S. adults with food allergies.

Nutrition and ingredient labeling transparency on alcoholic beverages may have improved since the labels in this study were collected in 2021. For example, some members of the distilled spirits industry committed in 2022 to provide voluntary "serving facts" information by 2024. Still, as the study demonstrates, voluntary labeling initiatives are often ineffective at adequately promoting transparency. Further regulatory action is therefore needed.

As noted, CSPI first petitioned the TTB in 2003 to require alcohol labels to disclose the same basic information that consumers expect for non-alcoholic beverages and food products. In 2022, CSPI, along with Consumer Federation of America and the National Consumers League, sued the TTB for failing to act on that petition after nearly 20 years. Shortly thereafter, TTB committed to initiate new rulemakings on the issues of alcohol and nutritional content labeling, major food allergen labeling, and ingredient labeling.

TTB issued proposed rules on alcohol and nutritional content and major allergen labeling in January 2025. However, the bureau has delayed issuance of a proposal on ingredient labeling and final rules on nutrition and allergen labeling. The Trump Administration's 2026 Unified Agenda indicates all three rules will be released in March 2027.

This study demonstrates the need for those rules. CSPI urges the TTB to release them no later than the March 2027 deadline.

"It's preposterous that after 23 years, Americans are still waiting for federal action to hold the alcohol industry accountable to the same basic transparency requirements as all other consumable products," said Eva Greenthal, senior policy scientist at CSPI and first author of the study. "Our study shows that voluntary industry promises have failed to deliver meaningful results. It's time for TTB to finish the job it started by publishing and finalizing strong, mandatory alcohol labeling rules without further delay."

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Tags

• Alcohol
• Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
• Warning Label
• Food Labeling

Topics

• CSPI
• Food Labeling
• Food Safety

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