Call for alcoholic drinks to detail calories

MEPs have pushed forward with plans to make the calorific content of alcoholic drinks listed on labels by law.

They have called for a new EU alcohol strategy from next year that also focuses on alcohol consumption by minors and labelling to discourage drink driving and drinking while pregnant.

Alcoholic drinks that contain more than 1.2 per cent alcohol by volume are currently exempt from EU regulations on nutritional labelling that came into force in 2011 covering all food and soft drinks.

The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) has warned that alcoholic drinks are contributing to obesity, with an estimated 10 per cent of daily calorie intake coming from alcohol in adults who drink.

Chairwoman Fiona Sim said she wanted to see labels on drinks set out calorific content, while restaurant and bar menus should also carry the information.

Writing in the BMJ, she said research conducted last year by the RSPH found widespread public support for calorie labelling on alcoholic drinks, with more than two-thirds approving.

A spokesman for the Portman Group, which represents alcohol producers, said: “A number of drinks companies and retailers are already taking voluntary action when it comes to calorie labels, but we live in a digital age and should be thinking innovatively about how people access information, not just focusing on product labels which are limited in size and space.

“The drinks industry fund Drinkaware - the alcohol education charity - who provide alcohol content and calorie information online.”