Allergen information on bottles of beer, wine and spirits would become mandatory under proposed rules. A coalition of national groups is urging the U.S. federal government to act now to require ingredient transparency on all beer, wine, and distilled alcohol products.
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has sent new proposed rules on allergens, alcohol content and nutrition, and ingredients to the White House for review.
“For people with food allergies, having access to information about what’s in our foods and beverages can be a matter of life and death,” Eva Greenthal tells Allergic Living. She is a senior policy scientist for the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).
Greenthal notes that beer, liquor, wine, and ready-to-drink cocktails often contain allergens or gluten as ingredients, just as food and non-alcoholic drinks do. “TTB needs to require this information on alcohol labels to protect public health and safety,” she says.
The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act requires packaged foods to clearly label the top 9 allergens and the Food and Drug Administration enforces the law. However, it’s the TTB, not the FDA, that regulates alcoholic beverages in the United States.
The alcohol and tobacco bureau created interim regulations in 2006 for the “voluntary” labeling of top allergens on alcohol. Yet, CSPI’s research shows few alcohol brands are providing such information on their labels.
Allergy advocates are hopeful that the TTB’s new “required” regulations will finally bring allergen and ingredient transparency for alcohol shopping.
“Our community relies on and depends on food allergen labeling to safely purchase and consume food,” says Sung Poblete, PhD, RN. The CEO of the nonprofit FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education) notes: “They deserve the right to have the same information on alcoholic beverages.”
Alcohol Allergen Labels: Next Steps
In its long-running efforts to make standardized alcohol labeling a requirement, CSPI has been working with FARE, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), the Consumer Federation of America, and National Consumers League.
Representatives from each of the groups met virtually with the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) on September 19, 2024 to discuss the proposed alcohol label requirements.
The absence of such labeling currently makes it hard for food-allergic consumers to avoid their triggers, says Melanie Carver. AAFA’s chief mission officer tells Allergic Living, “This leaves people with food allergies to guess or go to great lengths to determine if alcohol products contain a possible allergen.”
The advocacy groups are pushing for the White House to release TTB’s proposed rules before the Biden administration’s term ends. They are eager to see how the bureau is addressing the allergen and ingredient labeling issues.
Once the draft alcohol rules are released, they will be published in the Federal Register as “proposed rules.” There, any member of the public will be able to submit comments. TTB will then review all comments and create a Final Rule. The process could take one or more years. Once the final rule is published, the labeling policy will go into effect.
Consumers who wish to express support for transparent alcohol labeling and share personal stories can schedule meetings with the White House, Greenthal says. Community members can sign up here to set up a meeting about allergen labeling.
She says the next few weeks are a crucial period for influencing the government’s decision about how to move forward.
Alcohol Allergen Labels: On the Bottle
In the OIRA meeting, the consumer groups stressed the need for labeling information – from ingredients to calories, allergens and alcohol content – to be on the beverage container.
Some industry stakeholders have been pushing back. Greenthal says they point to a lack of space on their labels or the extra cost of new labels.
But advocates argue that companies that make certain types of alcohol, such as “hard cider,” have managed to follow the FDA labeling requirements for food allergens. (Such brands fall under the FDA’s purview because they are not malt beverages or distilled spirits and contain 7 percent or less alcohol.) As well, alcohol companies have been complying with mandatory labeling to declare when an alcoholic beverage “contains sulfites” for several years.
“Arguments from industry such as too little label space are moot,” FARE’s Poblete says.
The groups also urge against allowing manufacturers to include information only on a website, accessed by a web link or QR code. The label on the container, “ensures that all consumers, regardless of technology access or skills, can understand the information and make decisions to protect their health,” AAFA’s Carver says.
“On-package labeling is a no-brainer,” Greenthal says. “It’s how important information is conveyed for every other product we consume.”
Consumer Food Allergy Concerns
Efforts for mandatory alcohol allergen labels were renewed in January 2024 when the TTB sought feedback on the proposed requirements through listening sessions. More than 5,000 comments were submitted to the Federal Register website in response.
The bureau’s request for comment followed a February 2022 Treasury Board report, “Competition in the Markets for Beer, Wine and Spirits”. The report lists a lack of action on implementing proposals for mandatory allergen labeling on alcoholic beverages as a concern. It recommended that TTB “revive or initiate rulemaking proposing ingredient labeling and mandatory information on alcohol content, nutritional content, and appropriate serving sizes.”
Advocacy groups submitted comments supporting mandatory labeling, and encouraged public input. AAFA asked members of the food allergy community about their experiences with allergens in alcohol and garnered a range of responses.
Some people noted how time-consuming it can be to get accurate information about possible allergens in alcohol products. Others expressed worry about children with food allergies reaching the legal drinking age and not being able to navigate alcohol consumption safely. “As a mother of two children heading off to college soon, I am very concerned about the lack of proper labeling.”
Others discovered allergens in their drinks only after having had a reaction. “Alcohol needs to be clearly labeled, like food, to protect consumers,” wrote one follower.
FARE’s Poblete, who has food allergies, says she too is wary of consuming alcoholic beverages due to a lack of information. “Because of an experience I had, I don’t drink alcoholic beverages when I don’t know what’s in them,” she says. “There are many individuals like me who tend to shy away from beverages that are not transparent about ingredients.”
CSPI’s Alcohol Transparency Survey
CSPI conducted a national survey in March 2024 to gauge whether adults think transparent alcohol ingredient labels would be beneficial. The survey of 1,509 adults found that a majority support a policy requiring ingredients and allergens listed on alcohol labels.
For example, 65 percent of respondents strongly or somewhat support mandatory allergen information on drink labels. More than 75 percent said they would prefer ingredient information on the beverage container, instead of through a web link or a QR code.
Greenthal hopes the survey will help influence the TTB to implement mandatory labeling requirements.
“We must have mandatory disclosure of food allergens, ingredients, and nutrition as voluntary measures have not been adopted by the alcoholic beverage industry,” Poblete says.
A CSPI study proved that point. The research, based on 65 beer and 67 wine brands, examined compliance with the voluntary standards for allergen information and for nutrition and alcohol content.
It found a majority had not “consistently adopted serving, nutrition, or ingredient labels.” For example, 17 percent of beers and 0 percent of wines displayed an ingredient list. Meantime, 22 percent of beers and 12 percent of wines made ingredient claims, such as “gluten free.”
“It’s absolutely critical that this ruling be mandatory, not voluntary,” Greenthal said during the September 19 meeting.
Long Lobby for Allergen Rules
It was back in 2003 that CSPI and other groups submitted a citizen petition seeking mandatory alcohol labels that disclose ingredient information.
Poblete criticizes government inaction. “It has taken 21 years for a proposed regulation to be issued,” she notes. “That is unacceptable.”
By 2022, CSPI sued the TTB for not taking action on the labeling petition. The bureau responded with an agreement to issue proposed standardized rules for alcohol labels. But that has not yet happened.
As they await the TTB’s proposed rules, the advocates will continue to work toward urging regulators to take action. And they’ll continue to urge the food allergy community to act as well.
“It goes back to fairness – our community has a right to know what is in the bottle they are drinking,” Poblete says.
Related Reading:
Food Allergy and Alcohol: How to Socialize Without Brewing Up Trouble
Does Alcohol Make Food Allergy Reactions Worse?
Alcohol, Asthma and Food Allergies: What You Need to Know
