Beer manufacturers back voluntary labeling push

FILE - In this Dec. 11, 2013, file photo, brewer Stefano Daneri holding up a beer at Good People Brewing in Birmingham, Ala. Alabama's alcohol regulators want the name, address, age and phone number of everyone who buys beer in one of the state's craft breweries and takes it home to drink, a move that is raising concerns about privacy. he Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board is considering a new rule that would require brewers to collect the personal information of anyone who purchases beer at a brewery for off-premise consumption. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)(AP/Dave Martin)

WASHINGTON — The packaged food you buy has a long list of nutritional information. So does soda. And soon, so will beer.

The Beer Institute, a trade association for the American beer brewing industry, has unveiled a series of videos that explain the Brewers’ Voluntary Disclosure Initiative, aimed at giving consumers a comprehensive look at what’s in the beer they’re buying.

“The brewers and importers will voluntarily include a serving fact statement that lists calories, carbohydrates, protein, fat and alcohol by volume on their beer labels,” Jim McGreevy, president and CEO of the Beer Institute, told WTOP.

The labeling will include a freshness date.

Beer brewers are not required by federal law to label nutritional content. Though the Beer Institute’s initiative is voluntary, six major brewers representing more than 80 percent of the beer sold by volume in the U.S. have committed to it, including Anheuser-Busch, Miller-Coors, Heineken USA, Constellation Brands, North American Breweries and The Craft Brew Alliance.

“We encourage our friends in the spirits and wine industries to follow suit here. We think this is a very important public policy and we think this provides information to consumers that they’re hungry to have,” McGreevy said.

Diageo plc, one of the largest spirits producers in the world whose brands include Smirnoff, Captain Morgan and Johnnie Walker, announced in 2015 a commitment to include voluntary nutritional labeling on its products, and already does on some.

Participating beer brewers have committed to including the nutritional information labeling by the end of 2020.

Jeff Clabaugh

Jeff Clabaugh has spent 20 years covering the Washington region's economy and financial markets for WTOP as part of a partnership with the Washington Business Journal, and officially joined the WTOP newsroom staff in January 2016.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up