Nutritional Content Labeling of Alcoholic Beverages
Summary: The alcohol industry is not currently being held responsible for
disclosing the nutritional information of its products to the public. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and
Explosives regulates the enactment of policies that could include requiring
methods of distributing nutritional information to consumers. The addition of either a nutrition facts
table or contact phone number are options presented to the BATF and alcohol
manufacturers.
Table
of Contents
1. Motivation for Addition of
Nutritional Facts to Alcoholic Product Labels
2. Requirements for Proposed
Additions
3. Manufacturer’s Options for
Methods of Disclosure
Contact Number Overview
Nutrition Facts Table on Label Overview
4. Analysis of Manufacturer’s
Options
5.
Maximum Benefit Solution
6.
Proposed Course of Action
7. Works Consulted
Motivation
for Addition of Nutritional Facts to Alcoholic Product Labels
The American public is currently drinking unprecedented amounts of alcohol ignorant of its nutritional content. Due to the Federal Alcohol Administration Act of 1994 alcohol manufactures are not required to disclose the nutritional contents of its products to the consumer. If the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATF) were to mandate the disclosure of this information it would be providing an enormous service to the public. The rate of national obesity and diabetes--a chronic disease directly related to obesity--has been on the rise for years. Without nutritional information on alcoholic drinks consumers are lacking important information to make a decision that will affect their health and possibly exacerbate national health matters. The BATF has the opportunity to equip the public with pertinent information vital to their well-being.
Requirements
for Proposed Additions
Nutrition facts on alcoholic drinks need to be easily accessible. The consumer should be able to have access to the information on the day that it is requested. The information provided must allow the consumer to evaluate the nutritional density of the alcohol. A standard nutrition facts table supplies the necessary facts to make this evaluation:
Calories
Fat
Cholesterol
Sodium
Total Carbohydrates
Protein
These categories are sometimes broken down further. For example, total fat would be listed as well as a subcategory for saturated fat. Additionally, the diabetic exchange rate should be available along with the standard nutritional information.
Manufacturer’s
Options for Methods of Disclosure
Several options exist to provide consumer access to nutritional information. The first and most widely used is a standard nutrition facts table printed on the product label. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) demands all foods, with some exceptions for small packages and small businesses, carry a nutrition facts table. This table must meet specifications clearly defined by the FDA and would be useful should this option prove superior.
Alternately, a producer may choose to place a contact number on the container. When a consumer dials this number they gain access to the product’s nutritional facts. Modern technology may make an email address in place of, or in addition to a contact number, a third option.
Analysis
of Manufacturer’s Options
Contact Number Overview
Requiring a contact number gives consumers access to nutritional information and potentially allows inquiries to be answered within the same day. However, this is assuming a contact that is available 24 hours every day of the week. This could present staffing problems for manufactures that would be required to finance and operate this line. If the manufacture chooses instead to employ the use of an electronic phone system, cost burdens associated with manually staffed contacts may be ameliorated. Additional information may be available on the phone line not related to nutrition that may benefit the manufacturer. For example, advertising for new products may be added to either the recording, if electronically operated, or to the staffer’s greeting. A combination of electronic messages and actual personnel to completely answer consumer inquiries and curiosities is an additional option. This is clearly the manufacturer’s decision. While this method of disclosing nutritional facts gives the consumer access to information, the ease of accessibility is compromised. Additionally, the inclusion of a contact number to a container presents the manufacturer with two possible financial burdens: the cost of adding the number to the container and the cost of staffing the phone line.
Nutritional Table on Label Overview
If the BATF requires a nutrition facts table directly printed on the product’s label it gives the consumer immediate information. Ease of access increases the likelihood that the consumer will obtain the information. This option eliminates any time delay and provides the information to the consumer at the critical consumption time. Additionally, it is unfair that a qualification of phone or computer ownership be placed on a consumer interested in the nutritional content of the manufacturer’s product. This is why the FDA requires the actual table on all food packaging with a few well-warranted exceptions, to prevent possible economic discrimination.
The
costs of changing the product label fall on the manufacturer. This cost, as demonstrated by the current
constant change of product labels for things as minor as movie promotions—see
Dr. Pepper’s cans for X-2, is more than manageable. The continuing evolution of product labels is
astonishing and countless examples exist to enforce this point across the
spectrum of food and drinks. Even, UPS
unveiled a new label in spring 2003. The
cost of altering a label is a baseless argument and should not prevent the
addition of such critical information like a nutrition table. Fortunately, this is the sole cost attached
to this method.
Maximum Benefit Solution
The consumer would
benefit most from the addition of a nutrition facts table to alcohol product
labels. A nutrition facts table gives
every individual the knowledge required to evaluate the nutritional density of
the product. The table printed on the
container also eliminates the possibility of preventing someone without access
to a phone or computer from obtaining valuable nutrition facts. This method is also the most cost effective
for the manufacturer as it escapes the complications associated with creating
and staffing a 24 hour phone line. With
the both the consumer and manufacturer gaining the most and losing the least
with the addition of a nutrition table on the packaging it is a wiser choice
than the addition of a contact number on the package.
Proposed Course of Action
The recommended course of action is to propose that alcohol manufacturer’s print a nutrition facts table on their product labels. It is the most cost effective and consumer friendly option.
Works Consulted
Basic Diabetes Information. Amercian
Diabetes Association.
Berdanier Carolyn, ed. Handbook of Nutrition and Food. CRC Press 2002.
Compliance Policy Guides.
<http://www.fda.gov/ora/compliance_ref/cpg/cpgfod/cpg510-450.html>.
Obesity in the
http://www.obesity.org/subs/fastfacts/obesity_US.shtml
The Arc of the
http://www.thearc.org/ga/BATF.html
