Alcoholic beverage labeling complete with warnings approved in Ireland has caused uproar and protests from industry lobbyists, Big Alcohol. All is silent, however, on the European Commission’s commitment to require ingredient, calorie and nutritional table displays for beverages containing more than 1.2 percent alcohol by 2022 as well. An imperative goal, according to the coalition of civil society organizations, which in an open letter urges President von der Leyen.
Alcoholic beverage labeling, Ireland sets an example
The Irish government on May 22, 2023, approved mandatory labeling of alcoholic beverages with an indication of calorie content and grams of alcohol in the product. (1)
The label should also feature warnings about the risk of consuming alcohol during pregnancy (already in place in France) and of the increased likelihood of contracting liver disease and cancer due to alcohol consumption. The same information must be offered to consumers in public establishments that sell alcohol by the glass.
The new measures will be in effect three years from May 22, 2026.
The reasons for the new measures
The need to impose warnings on the population about the risks related to alcohol consumption seemed inevitable in light of the outcome of the Healthy Ireland survey.
The survey is conducted annually among a nationally representative sample of more than 7,000 respondents. The responses received show that many Irish people (especially in the 15-24 age group) are unaware of the risk of health damage from alcohol consumption:
- 7% of the sample believes it is safe to consume alcohol during pregnancy, while 9% do not know if it has harmful effects,
- 79% do not know that drinking alcohol above recommended thresholds increases the risk of breast cancer,
- 60% do not know the correlation with bowel cancer risk
- 52% are unaware of the increased incidence of gastric ulcers in alcohol users,
- 49% do not know that alcohol promotes hypertension.
The urgency of alcoholic beverage labeling in the EU.
The urgency of introducing alcoholic beverage labeling is being reminded to the European Commission by a large coalition of organizations (including
Égalité ETS
) committed to public health, medical and scientific societies and patient groups.
In an open letter, civil society reiterates its position on the proposed legislation on this issue, as part of the revision of EU Regulation No. 1169/2011 on Food Information to Consumers (FIC). (2)
Alcohol is the causative factor in more than 200 diseases and conditions and has been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a Group 1 human carcinogen since 1988. In terms of cancer prevention, evidence suggests that there is no amount that can be considered safe for consumption. In the WHO European region, half of all cancers attributable to alcohol are actually caused by ‘light’ or ‘moderate’ drinking patterns.
Blind drinking
Consumers are still deprived of the right to receive basic nutritional information on alcohol. In fact, alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content of more than 1.2 percent by volume currently have no information on the label about the energy value (expressed in kcal/KJ), the full nutrition declaration and the list of ingredients.
The Commission has already acknowledged the lack of objective justification for this exemption in a belated 2017 report to the European Parliament and the Council. And yet it lags 9 years behind the tasks delegated to it, as noted.
Digital non-code labels
All organizations involved in public health, academia and research institutions, as well as consumer organizations, already signatories to the Oslo Declaration, call for the information to be reported on the label, while alcohol producers insist on a solution off-label, through a QR-code that redirects the user to a site web.
The assumption is patently unfit to inform the population and could further widen health inequalities. In fact, the 2021 Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) results show that 44 percent of people in the EU lack basic digital skills. In addition, not everyone in Europe owns a smartphone, nor is good network coverage necessary to ‘open’ the QR code at points of sale always guaranteed.
The appeal to the European Commission
The coalition’s letter concludes with an explicit invitation to the European Commission to
- respect consumers’ right to information by publishing a proposal for mandatory labeling of the energy value, full nutrition declaration and ingredient list for all alcoholic beverages (wines, beers and spirits) as soon as possible,
- Ensure that basic nutrition information is available on the label so that consumers can easily access it at any time and without the need for additional tools and expertise.
Marta Strinati
Notes
(1) Ministers for Health bring into law the world’s first comprehensive health labeling of alcohol products. Government of Ireland. Department of Health, press release. 22.5.23 https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/03997-ministers-for-health-bring-into-law-the-worlds-first-comprehensive-health-labelling-of-alcohol-products/#
(2) Civil society alliance calls for labeling solutions which respond to European citizens’ right to information: ON label. 19.5.23 Letter to President of the European Commission – Alcohol labelling May 2023
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
