What's in beer? european brewers commit to nutritional info for consumers

The Brewers of Europe announced on March 26^th 2015 a major voluntary move from brewers to list ingredients and nutrition information on their brands per 100ml, in line with the legal requirements for all non-alcoholic drinks, including non-alcoholic beer. The information will progressively be provided across Europe by companies on pack and/or online, utilizing an expanding range of consumer communication platforms.

Brewers are immensely proud of the beers they brew and the ingredients used to produce them. They want Europe’s consumers to know the ingredients in beer and how these beers can fit within a balanced lifestyle. Brewers already label the alcohol content on their beer brands but they also agree with consumer groups that citizens would benefit from having access to the ingredients and nutrition information, allowing them to compare like-for-like facts with all the other beverages available to them, both non-alcoholic and alcoholic.

As companies and national brewers associations consider the local applications of this commitment and roll it out as appropriate, The Brewers will set targets, report on progress made and showcase best practices. This action will also contribute to the implementation of the European Beer Pledge. All foods and beverages are covered by the EU Regulation on Food Information to Consumers. However, when it comes to ingredients listing and nutrition declarations, there is currently an exemption for alcoholic beverages of more than 1.2% ABV (alcohol by volume). Nevertheless, many consumers logically want to be able to compare the ingredients and nutritional declarations amongst all beverages, which is why brewers will be going beyond current EU regulations and providing this information too, doing so per 100ml as is currently legally required for the rest of the food and drinks industry.

Please visit the Brewers of Europe website to have a look at the complete press release or the interesting infographics from a GfK consumer survey on ingredients and nutrition information on alcoholic beverages.

Please contact us if you are interested in the complete survey conducted by GfK on consumer knowledge of ingredients and nutritional declarations of alcoholic beverages and the use of online information.