Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is calling for comment on a proposal to require energy content information on the label of alcoholic beverages.
Currently most alcoholic beverages are not required to display any nutritional information, including energy content.
Australian and New Zealand food ministers asked FSANZ to consider energy labelling on alcoholic beverages to assist consumers in making informed choices consistent with dietary guidelines.
FSANZ is proposing to amend the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Code) to require energy (kilojoule) content information on the label of alcoholic beverages1.
FSANZ CEO Dr Sandra Cuthbert said both the Australian and New Zealand dietary guidelines recommend limiting alcohol intake to help achieve appropriate energy intake.
“Available evidence indicates the energy content of alcoholic beverages is not well understood by many consumers” Dr Cuthbert said.
“The proposed approach ensures greater coverage and consistency of energy labelling to support consumers to make informed choices.”
FSANZ’s assessment considered the best available evidence, relevant policy guidance, stakeholder views and the costs and benefits of providing energy content information on alcoholic beverages.
The call for submissions provides a summary of FSANZ’s assessment and includes draft amendments to the Code. Interested parties are invited to comment on the proposed amendments. The period for comment closes at 6pm (Canberra time) 27 February 2023.
1 standardised alcoholic beverages e.g. beer, wine and beverages containing no less than 0.5% alcohol by volume that are not standardised alcoholic beverages.
What happens to my feedback?
We will publish all submissions to our website as soon as possible at the end of the public comment period.
We will consider all feedback received through this submission process before making a decision on whether to approve the proposal.
Our decision will be notified to ministers responsible for food regulation who can ask for a review or agree to include the amendment in the Food Standards Code.
