Old wine, new labels: FSANZ proposes nutrition labels for alcohol

03 May 2022 --- Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is working on a proposal which could see the roll out of energy labels on alcoholic drinks, spurred by rising alcohol-related health concerns such as obesity.

In August 2019, Food Ministers asked FSANZ to consider energy labeling on alcoholic beverages to support consumers in making informed choices.

“In response, FSANZ undertook preliminary work, including an evidence assessment, consumer literature review and options analysis for labeling of alcoholic beverages,” a spokesperson for FSANZ tells NutritionInsight. 

“Based on the findings of this work, FSANZ has commenced assessment of a proposal to consider amending the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code to provide energy labeling information on alcoholic beverages.”

Kept in the dark
Providing the nutritional value on alcoholic drink packaging will align them with other F&B products. Until now, consumers have been kept in the dark about nutritional values such as sugar and calories in their alcoholic drinks, FSANZ outlines. 

Previously, FSANZ carried out a literature review on consumer value to discover that consumers are generally unable to correctly estimate the energy content such as the  number of kilojoules or calories in alcoholic beverages.

Most consumers cannot estimate the calories in alcoholic beverages correctly.Based on 22 studies, the report showed that only 18% of consumers could correctly estimate the calories in alcoholic beverages. Consumers are also unable to rank the energy content of different alcoholic drinks correctly: the energy of wine and spirits is commonly misunderstood as being lower, whereas the calories in beer are overestimated.  

Additionally, consumers are generally unaware that alcohol is the primary energy source in wine, beer and spirits, believing that sugar is the main energy source in these beverages. While 69% consumers value energy labeling on alcoholic beverages as beneficial, the review also indicated that consumers have difficulties interpreting the nutrition information.

Therefore, the report concludes that it is unclear whether providing consumers with energy labeling will enhance their understanding and behavior toward alcoholic drinks. A recent UK-based study discovered that even light alcohol consumption is linked to cardiovascular diseases. 

Hidden calories
The Australian Dietary Guidelines and the Eating and Activity Guidelines for New Zealand Adults recommend limiting alcohol intake to manage body weight.

Similar demands were made in the UK recently, with health experts calling on the government to make information on nutrition values like calories and sugar content mandatory on alcoholic drinks. According to Alcohol Health Alliance UK, other countries in the EU are also lacking relevant regulation.

Australia’s guidelines suggest consuming no more than four standard drinks per day and ten standard drinks per week. A standard drink (e.g.,100ml of wine or 425ml of light beer) contains ten grams of pure alcohol.

Healthy living trends are also spurring demand for alcohol-free drinks, driving new product innovations in the non-alcoholic drink category.

By Ilze Vitola