+-------+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| !     | ## American Dietetic Association                             |
| [](me |                                                              |
| dia/i | ## *Your link to nutrition and health.^sm^*                  |
| mage1 |                                                              |
| .emf) | 120 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2000 Policy Initiatives and |
|       | Advocacy                                                     |
|       |                                                              |
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|       |                                                              |
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|       |                                                              |
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|       | FAX 202/775-8284                                             |
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September 22, 2005

Bill H. Foster

Chief, Regulations and Procedures Division

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau

Attn: Notice No. 41

P.O. Box 14412

Washington, DC 20044-4412

***Labeling and Advertising of Wines, Distilled Spirits and Malt
Beverages***

The American Dietetic Association (ADA) appreciates this opportunity to
respond to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) Notice No.
41: Labeling and Advertising of Wines, Distilled Spirits and Malt
Beverages; Request for Public Comment published in the April 29, 2005
Federal Register (Vol. 70, No.82, pp. 22274-22283.) We support the TTB
in its decision to consider revising alcohol beverage product labeling
and advertising regulations to provide consumers with specific
information about nutrition and ingredients make better informed food
and nutrition choices.

The ADA is the largest association of food and nutrition professionals,
representing nearly 65,000 members serving the public through the
promotion of optimal nutrition, health and well-being. The Association
has identified among its priority issues the need to increase nutrition
education for all and to support continuous efforts such as the Dietary
Guidelines for Americans to advance better nutrition among diverse
populations. ADA actively participated in the discussions leading up to
the passage of the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act in 1990 and has
been a strong supporter of mandatory nutrition labeling for all packaged
foods. The Association continues to affirm its support for nutrition
labeling so that consumers have the information they need to make
healthful food and nutrition choices.[^1] ADA is also concerned that
consumers receive nutrition information that is truthful and
non-misleading.[^2]

In the United States, leading determinants of morbidity and mortality
are rooted in behavioral choices related to eating habits, exercise,
tobacco, alcohol consumption and stress reduction.[^3]^,^ [^4] ADA's
position is that health promotion and disease prevention are the best
population strategies for reducing the current burden of chronic
disease.^3^ The technical paper that supports this position addresses
alcohol beverage consumption and advises dietitians that "dietetics
professionals may promote healthy lifestyles by reassuring the public
that light-to-moderate alcohol consumption may have beneficial health
outcomes for those who choose to drink, while heavy alcohol consumption
is deleterious to health."

## The issue is also important as well in the context of body weight management. ADA takes the position that successful weight management to improve overall health for adults requires a lifelong commitment to healthful lifestyle behaviors emphasizing sustainable and enjoyable eating practices and daily physical activity.[^5] While the scientific evidence for a specific role of alcohol in overweight conditions or obesity remains uncertain, recent evidence suggests that alcohol may contribute to excess body weight among certain types of drinkers.[^6]^,^ [^7] The *Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005*[^8] acknowledges that excessive alcohol consumption makes it difficult to ingest sufficient nutrients within an individual's daily calorie allotment as well as maintain a healthy weight. Consequently, nutrition labeling of alcohol beverage products will provide Americans an informational tool for monitoring their dietary intake.

ADA has carefully reviewed the notice within the context of its
positions and supports mandatory labeling, labeling requirements and
formats consistent with those of the FDA, and consumer testing of
proposed formats. These are addressed in greater detail under items A.
through C. below.

**A. INFORMATION SHOULD HELP CONSUMERS MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS**

Nutrition and ingredient labeling of alcohol beverage products will
contribute positively to public health measures to reduce the current
burden of chronic disease, including obesity, hypertension, diabetes and
dyslipidemia. ADA supports initiatives to label wine, distilled spirits,
and malt beverages to provide information consumers can use to maintain
health, including a healthy body weight, and to manage chronic
conditions, such as diabetes. This information would be best conveyed
within the context of dietary guidance based on the Dietary Guidelines
for Americans 2005, which includes advice on the consumption of alcohol
beverage products.[^9]

The ADA actively monitors and provides input and commentary to FDA's
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) in support of its
work to improve food and nutrition labeling so that consumers have
access to the information they need to make more informed and healthier
food and beverage choices within the context of their daily diet. In
this same spirit, ADA believes that consumers will benefit from
nutrition and ingredient labeling of wine, distilled spirits and malt
beverages and thus urges TTB to make such labeling mandatory. ADA also
believes that the growing health care costs associated with the rise in
chronic diseases and conditions\-\--many of which can be attributed to
over consumption of foods and beverages including those containing
alcohol\-\--more than justifies the costs of revising labels.

FDA nutrition labeling is not mandatory for producers and manufacturers
who meet certain revenue and/or employee base limits. We believe it is
appropriate to apply a similar sort of exemption based on criteria
specific to the alcohol beverage industry that could be applied fairly.
TTB also should consider that smaller producers and manufacturers can
afford to post ingredients and nutrient content information on the
web and to provide a web address and a postal address or a telephone
number on the label to assist consumers in finding this information.

ADA believes that mandatory statements should be required for alcohol
beverage products that contain any of the major eight allergens or
gluten consistent with the requirements of the Food Allergen Labeling
and Consumer Protection Act of 2004. TTB should comply with FDA
regulations for these allergens.

**B. CONSISTENT TYPE AND FORMAT WILL HELP CONSUMERS AND DECREASE
CONFUSION**

ADA supports language and labeling formats harmonious with the FDA's to
promote consumer understanding since most consumers already recognize
the nutrition facts panel. Additional comments regarding a nutrition
label for alcohol beverage products are provided on pages 4 through 7 of
this letter.

Regarding advertisements, TTB already has applied principles of
advertising requirements that are consistent with the Federal Alcohol
Administration Act (FAA Act) which gives the agency authority to prevent
deception of consumers, to provide consumers with adequate information,
and to prohibit false or misleading statements.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has similar oversight
responsibilities for advertising of foods and other beverages, but does
not require the same level of information detail as the FDA does on the
label. Thus, TTB requirements for advertising related to nutritional
content and ingredients of wine, distilled spirits and malt beverages
could be of similar detail to the extent that the information presented
is truthful and factual and not misleading or deceptive, as already
described in the Alcohol Beverage Advertising Program (ABAP).

ADA commends the agency for its TTB Ruling 2004-1, modifying ATF Ruling
80-3, that clarifies caloric and carbohydrate representations in the
labeling and advertising of wine, distilled spirits, and malt beverages.
ADA also supports TTB's efforts to implement ABAP to examine all
advertising venues and to determine compliance with mandatory and
prohibited statement requirements, including "*misleading or false
curative or therapeutic claims; misleading references to carbohydrates,
calories, fat, protein, and other macronutrients or "components;" and
specific health claims and health related statements".*[^10] ADA
supports TTB's recent clarification of advertisement requirements for
wine, distilled spirits, and malt beverage products containing
ingredients such as caffeine, ginseng, gurana and others, as possibly
being misleading and not in compliance with existing ATT
regulations.[^11]^,^[^12]

**C. CONSUMER RESEARCH SHOULD BE CONDUCTED**

ADA believes that consumer research is necessary to determine if a
proposed labeling format and content is understandable and to ensure
that allowable nutrient claims are not misleading. Furthermore,
consumers should be able to understand the information in the context of
a total diet. For example, it would be important to determine if
consumers can comprehend what constitutes a serving or a drink, how many
drinks would be contained in a bottle or other container, and how the
beverage contributes to a day's intake of calories and other nutrients.

**D. RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS POSED BY TTB**

A. *Calorie and Carbohydrate Claims.*

ADA believes that TTB should wait for the FDA decision regarding
definitions for carbohydrate claims, which are still under consideration
by that agency, to harmonize the regulations. Plus, ADA recommends that
TTB utilize the same criteria for these claims as FDA, to the extent
possible.

Currently, TTB rulings state that when the term "light" or "lite" is
used to imply calorie reduction in an advertisement, the product should
must include a statement of average analysis.[^13] These rulings also
allow specific calorie (and carbohydrate) comparisons, on labels and in
advertisements\...as long as the comparison is not false or otherwise
misleading or suggests that the beverages play a healthy role in a
weight maintenance or weight reduction plan. According to the TTB, the
industry has used these terms for several decades, and they are
generally understood to refer to the qualities of the alcohol beverage
product (such as a reduced calorie level, as well as being light in
taste, body and color), rather than the physical fitness of the
individual who consumes the product. In foods, consumers have become
accustomed to the term indicating a substantial reduction in calorie or
fat content.

Consumers may be less familiar with the term "light" as a standard of
identity for a specific alcohol content in wine or distilled spirits.
The standards for "light" vary with the type of alcoholic beverage. For
example, "light wine" is synonymous with the definition of table wine
made of grapes (*less* than 14 percent alcohol by volume). For desert
wine, light sherry is defined as *less* than 17 percent or, in some
cases for sherry and other dessert wines, less than 18 percent alcohol
by volume. [^14] Yet, "light whiskey" is currently defined as *more*
than 160° proof (80 percent alcohol). [^15] Therefore, ADA recommends
that TTB consider implementing a consistent framework for use of the
term "light" in referring to alcohol content. When used to describe
alcohol content of a beverage, a definition of the standard would be
required on the label. For example, when "light" refers to alcohol
content on light whiskey, the declaration "more than 160° proof" would
be required on the label.

Because the term "light" is used in reference to alcohol content,
reduced calories, as well as other beverage characteristics, ADA
suggests that TTB adopt FDA regulations that require the term "light" be
accompanied with a statement on the label that describes the context in
which it is used. In addition, ADA recommends that TTB define "light" or
"lite" for malted beverages to mean a 25 percent calorie reduction or
greater. A 25 percent reduction in calories per serving of malt
beverages represents a significant reduction in calories.

B.  *Petition for "Alcohol Facts" Label and Ingredient Labeling.*

See below: E. Composite Label Approaches.

C.  *Allergen Labeling.*

The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004
identifies eight major allergens associated with the vast majority of
food allergic reactions that should be identified on food and beverage
product labels in common language. The House of Representatives
Committee Report accompanying the legislation indicated that TTB is to
work with FDA in promulgating appropriate labeling regulations for
alcohol beverage products. ADA is pleased that TTB is working with the
FDA to develop rules that govern allergen labeling on alcohol beverage
products. Ingredient label declarations using appropriate common
language for allergens and for sulfites will assist consumers in
determining whether a specific ingredient of concern is contained in the
product.

D.  *Request For Voluntary "Serving Facts" Labeling.*

See below: E. Composite Label Approaches.

E.  *Composite Label Approaches.*

ADA has reviewed sections B. D. and E. of Notice No. 41 and believes
that a composite label approach, consistent with the Nutrition Facts
Panel (NFP) required by FDA on food and beverage package labels, would
be most appropriate and beneficial to consumers. The FDA is currently
reviewing food and beverage labels to enhance their utility for
consumers in making informed choices. Because of alcohol's caloric
density (7 kcal/gram), plus the caloric contribution of "other"
ingredients such as cream and calorie sweeteners in some alcohol
beverage specialty products, ADA believes that FDA's efforts to enhance
the 'calorie' information on the label and to clarify the concept of
serving size relative to a single eating/drinking occasion are also
applicable to wine, distilled spirits, and malt beverages. Thus, ADA
urges TTB to incorporate any changes FDA makes to nutrition labeling
into regulations governing labeling of alcohol beverage products.

ADA recommends that the nutrition label for alcohol beverage products be
called an "Alcohol Facts" panel to distinguish it from the Nutrition
Facts panel. This approach was used by FDA to distinguish the label on
dietary supplements ("Supplement Facts") from the label on foods, and
thus serves as a precedent for a similar name for the panel on alcohol
beverage products.

The product should be labeled as packaged. If the manufacturer features
a mixed drink "recipe" they could have the option of providing nutrition
information for the total recipe as well.

ADA considers it is appropriate for the composite label to contain the
following information. For malt and other beverages served in containers
consumed in a single drinking occasion, but larger (i.e., 16 or 20 oz.
beer; a split of wine) than the typical (reference) drink, dual labeling
would be required for the alcohol facts panel information. Malt
beverages smaller than 12 oz. (i.e. 10 oz.) would not require dual
labeling.

-   [A description of a typical (reference) drink in ounces]{.underline}

Malt beverage 12 oz.

Wine 5 oz.

> Dessert wine 3 oz.

Distilled spirits 1.5 oz.

Specialty Products TBD\*

> \*Typical (reference) drinks in ounces for specialty products need to
> be determined.

-   [The number of typical (reference) drinks per container]{.underline}

-   [The following nutritional information per typical (reference)
    drink]{.underline} (and also for larger single serving drink
    container when dual labeling is required) This information should be
    presented in the same order as for the Nutrition Facts Panel with
    the exception of alcohol, which is currently not listed on the NFP:

Calories (kilocalories)

Alcohol (grams)

\% Alcohol

Fat (grams)

Carbohydrate (grams)

Protein (grams)

Other nutrients may be labeled voluntarily

-   [The statement: "U.S. Dietary Guidelines, 2005, defines moderate
    alcohol consumption as no more than two \[reference\] drinks per day
    for men and one drink for women".]{.underline}

-   [Ingredients list]{.underline}: in descending order by predominance.

ADA acknowledges that nutrition and ingredient information can be widely
distributed through many venues (internet, posters, etc.), but
publication alone does not create an informed public capable of making
food and beverage choices that promote optimum health. An informative
Alcohol Facts Label on the product at the point of purchase can help to
inform consumers as they make their purchasing decisions.

**E. SUMMARY**

Results of a consumer survey conducted by the American Dietetic
Association in 2002[^16], tell us that consumers are increasingly aware
of the connection between diet and health, with particular concern for
obesity.   They not only seek information on nutrition and healthful
eating, but also select foods in order to achieve balanced nutrition and
a healthy diet.  The survey results also indicate that consumers could
not consistently identify serving sizes of some foods. Therefore,
nutrition labels on foods and beverages can provide consumers with the
type of information they need to make informed food and beverage based
on accurate and consistent energy and nutrient data.    Therefore, ADA
supports:

1.  mandatory labeling with allowances for small businesses such as
    options for providing information on the internet and by mail upon
    consumer request

2.  consistency of labeling requirements/formats with that of FDA to
    decrease consumer confusion

3.  testing of any proposed formats to assure that

    a.  consumers understand the information in the context of a total
        diet

    b.  information provided is truthful and not misleading.

Dietetic professionals play a critical role in helping consumers
interpret food labels, integrate them with other tools and information,
and apply them in their lives. ADA's members stand ready to assist TTB
in its outreach and educational efforts. Nutrition information does not
replace the need for nutrition education.

For further information or clarification of the above comments, please
contact me at 202-775-8277, ext. 17, or <mhager@eatright.org>.

Sincerely,

/s/

Mary H. Hager, PhD, RD

Senior Manager, Regulatory Affairs

[^1]: "How Does the Current Label and Packaging Help or Hinder Those
    Engaged in Weight Loss Programs? -- A Dietitian's Perspective"
    Presentation by Susan Cummings, MS, RD. Food and Drug Administration
    Hearing, November 20, 2003.

[^2]: Ayoob K, Duyff RL, Quagliani D. Position of the American Dietetic
    Association: Food and nutrition information. *J Amer Diet Assoc*.
    2002;102:260-266.

[^3]: Rehm J, Gmel G, Sempos CT, Trevisan M . Alcohol--Related Morbidity
    and Mortality. Accessed September 8, 2005:
    http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh27-1/39-51.htm

[^4]: Hampl JS, Anderson JV, Mullis R. Position of the American Dietetic
    Association: The role of the dietetics professionals in health
    promotion and disease prevention. *J Am Diet Assoc*.
    2002;102:1680-1687.

[^5]: Cummings S, Parham ES, Strain GW. Position of the American
    Dietetic Association. Weight management. *J Am Diet Assoc*.
    2002;102:1145-1155.

[^6]: Breslow RA, Smothers BA. Drinking patterns and body mass index in
    never smokers. *Am J Epidemiol.* 2005;161:368-376

[^7]: Wannamethee SG, Field AE, Colditz GA, Rimm EB. Alcohol intake and
    8-year weight gain in women: A prospective study*. Obes Res.
    2004;*12:1386-1396.

[^8]: US Department of Health and Human Services and US Department of
    Agriculture. Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005. Available at:
    <http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document>. Accessed
    September 21, 2005.

[^9]: US Department of Health and Human Services and US Department of
    Agriculture. Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005. Chapter 9
    Alcoholic Beverages. Available at:
    [http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/
    document/html/chapter9.htm](http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/html/chapter9.htm).
    Accessed August 1, 2005.

[^10]: Department of the Treasury, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade
    Bureau. Alcohol beverage advertising program. Industry Circular No.
    2004-6, November 16, 2004.

[^11]: TTB Announcement: Advertising Malt Beverages Containing
    Ingredients Associated with Non-Alcohol Energy Drinks,
    <http://www.ttb.gov/announcements/051805energy_beer.pdf>; Accessed
    September 14, 2005.

[^12]: Advertising Distilled Spirits Containing Ingredients Associated
    with Non-Alcohol Energy Drinks,
    <http://www.ttb.gov/announcements/080205energydsgenericletter.pdf>;
    Accessed September 14, 2005.

[^13]: Department of the Treasury, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade
    Bureau. TTB Ruling 2004-1. Caloric and carbohydrate representations
    in the labeling and advertising of wine, distilled spirits and malt
    beverages. April 7, 2004.

[^14]: 27 CFR 4.21 Standards of identity for wine.

[^15]: 27 CFR 5.22(b)(3) "Light whisky" is whiskey produced in the
    United states at more than 160° proof, on or after January 26, 2968,
    and stored in used or uncharred new oak containers; and also
    includes mixtures of such whiskies. If "light whisky" is mixed with
    less than 20 percent of straight whisky on a proof gallon basis, the
    mixture shall be designed "blended light whisky" (light whisky---a
    blend).

[^16]: American Dietetic Association. Nutrition and You: Trends 2002.
    Final Report., 2002. Available at:
    <http://www.eatright.org/images/pr/trends02findings.pdf>. Accessed
    September 20, 2005.