Public health experts call for calorie labelling for beers, wines and spirits

By Gemma McKenna

Published: 31 October, 2014

The drinks industry faces renewed calls for calorie labelling on drinks, following research which shows strong public backing for the measure and a lack of consumer awareness on how calorific drinks can be.

wine Drinks industry faces fresh calls for calorie labellingResearch carried out by the RSPH showed 80% of consumers did not know the calorie content of a glass of wine. A 250ml glass of wine of 11% abv is around 200 calories.

The Royal Society for Public Health is calling on the drinks industry and newly appointed EU Health Commissioner to introduce the labels. On its website it is encouraging consumers to download letter templates to send to the heads of Diageo, Majestic Wines and SAB Miller to ask for their support in having drinks labels include the information.

The letter states: "One glass of wine can contain up to 185 calories, the same as a slice of pizza. Drinking alcohol can be a 'hidden' source of calories for many people, exacerbating weight gain. By displaying calories on labels, consumers can be made aware of the extra calories they may be consuming as a result of alcohol.to calorie labelling for alcoholic drinks."

The European Commission has already committed to making a decision by the end of this year on whether to extend nutrition labelling to apply to alcoholic drinks.

Shirley Cramer CBE, chief executive of RSPH, said: "Calorie labelling has been successfully introduced for a wide range of food products and there is now a clear public appetite for this information to be extended to alcohol to help individuals make informed choices. With two in three adults overweight or obese and given that adults who drink get approximately 10% of their calories from alcohol, this move could make a major difference to waistlines of the nation."

The Portman Group, the drinks industry's responsibility body, said it takes health consequences of drinking "very seriously" and includes calorie information on the Drinkaware site.

"Drinks producers can play a key role in informing and educating consumers and are open to further discussions about calorie information.

"However, it is essential that alcohol content, not calorie content, should primarily inform consumer decision-making."

Ian Twinn,director of public affairs at ISBA, the trade body for advertisers, criticised the message from the health lobby: "Both obesity and excessive alcohol consumption are real issues that government have a stake in.

Research carried out by the RSPH showed 80% of consumers did not know the calorie content of a glass of wine. A 250ml glass of wine of 11% abv is around 200 calories.

"The trouble with the claims by the medical campaigners and the pressure group activists is that they fail to see the whole picture. Calls for yet more info on labels misses the point rather spectacularly. Alcohol producers, through the Portman Group and their support for the Drinkaware campaigns have consistently focused the public's mind on responsible drinking. Understanding the amount of alcohol and its impact is important to us all.

"Today's PR campaign from the obesity lobby confuses the binge drinking and obesity messages. Surley doctors and public health officials need to wonder why people do not understand the blindingly obvious that most food and drink will make us fat if we have too much and do not follow a balanced diet. Campaigns to make us aware of this simple fact would be a lot more effective than hectoring campaigns against consumers and businesses."

Research conducted by RSPH showed:

Two thirds of the public support calorie labelling alcohol drinks packaging;

Over 80% of the public did not know or incorrectly estimated the calorie content of a large glass of wine;

Almost 90% did not know or incorrectly estimated the calories in a pint of lager.

Cramer added: "While we continue to back unit labelling for alcoholic drinks, we believe that many people find calorie labelling easier to translate into their everyday lives. We know that the EU Commission is due to publish its findings on extending nutritional labelling to alcohol in December and would be extremely surprised if they didn't back this measure to improve the public's health."

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