Consumer group urges Treasury secretary to require nutrition labeling on alcohol

The National Consumer League called on U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to require the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) to implement proposed nutrition labeling rules for alcohol producers by June.

The group, which represents lobbying firms focused on nutrition and consumers, said in a letter to Yellen that it had pushed for a “Serving Facts” label on all alcohol products – including the amount of alcohol and calories, serving size and number of standard drinks. per container — for two decades, but the government office that regulates certain alcohol products has ignored the calls.

The National Consumers League pointed to a 2022 letter from the TTB in which the agency pledged to issue three mandatory rules that alcohol producers would have to follow. At the time, the TTB said they would be released by the end of 2023, which the consumer group said did not happen. That followed a lawsuit filed that year by the National Consumers League and two other consumer groups seeking to impose a labeling requirement.

“We are concerned that the agency plans to slow down deliberations for months and deprive consumers of the information they need to make fully informed alcohol consumption decisions,” the group said in the letter to Yellen. this week.

As of press time, the TTB and the U.S. Department of the Treasury did not respond to a request for comment.

According to the National Consumers League, consumers would benefit from increased nutritional and alcohol content labeling on products such as wine and spirits. He highlighted the health risks associated with excessive alcohol consumption – such as cancers and obesity – and the involvement of alcohol in 30% of car-related deaths.

In a statement, Sally Greenberg, CEO of the National Consumers League, said that while the government office has consistently taken the position that nutrition labels are too costly and time-consuming for alcohol producers, these companies are already adding labels to select ready-to-drink products. items.

“The inconvenient truth for the industry is that some of the same companies whose products do not include a statement of drinking facts if regulated by the TTB have already put full alcohol labeling on their ciders hard seltzers, wine coolers and other FDA-regulated wines and beers,” Greenberg said.