Originally published October 14 2005
Consumer group wants to change the alcohol industry
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The National Consumers league is pushing to change a guideline established by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, or TTB, which doesn't allow nutrition labeling on alcohol products.
WASHINGTON -- Alcohol is the only consumable product that doesn't contain nutritional labels, and the National Consumers League thinks it's time that changed.
NCL President Linda Golodner said the government should require the same standardized labeling information on alcoholic beverages that now appears on products from foods and beverages to over-the-counter drugs.
"Today, even the most basic information about alcohol beverages is not required to be provided on the labels of most alcohol beverage products," Golodner said in a news release.
The labels would include information including calories, carbohydrates, fats, serving size and alcoholic content.
Golodner said it would help diet-conscious consumers keep count of calories and carbs, and let people know how much alcohol they have consumed.
The NCL said that the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, or TTB, currently doesn't permit such labeling.
In a survey of nearly 1,000 Americans conducted by the NCL, 89 percent of respondents said companies should be allowed to put information on their labels that will state how much alcohol is in a standard serving.
And 86 percent said the TTB should not be able to prevent companies from disclosing this kind of information on labels.
The NCL suggested that the TTB first allow alcohol labeling on a voluntary basis and then consider mandatory rules.
The TTB says on its Web site that it considered whether to require nutrition labeling on alcoholic beverages in 1993, and after collecting comments from consumers and people in the industry, decided such labeling wasn't necessary.
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