REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL regarding the mandatory labelling of the list of ingredients and the nutrition declaration of alcoholic beverages
Date: 2017-03-13
Institutions: Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, European Commission
Subjects: alcoholic beverage, consumer information, foodstuff, harmonisation of standards, labelling, marketing standard, nutrition, public health

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 13.3.2017  COM(2017) 58 final   REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL regarding the mandatory labelling of the list of ingredients and the nutrition declaration of alcoholic beverages  
 
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

regarding the mandatory labelling of the list of ingredients and the nutrition declaration 
of alcoholic beveragesTABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

2. 

3. 

3.1. 

3.2. 

4. 

4.1. 

4.2. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

Introduction .................................................................................................................. 3 

Historical Background ................................................................................................. 4 

EU legal framework on the labelling of alcoholic beverages ...................................... 4 

Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 ................................................................................... 4 

Other EU provisions on the labelling of alcoholic beverages ...................................... 5 

Legislation of Member States, situation at international level and in third countries .. 6 

Member States .............................................................................................................. 6 

International organisations and third countries ............................................................ 6 

Consumer knowledge and interest ............................................................................... 7 

Stakeholders ................................................................................................................. 8 

Calls for action ........................................................................................................... 10 

7.1.  World Health Organisation ........................................................................................ 10 

7.2. 

7.3. 

8. 

European Parliament and Council .............................................................................. 11 

Consultation of Member States' experts by the Commission .................................... 11 

Conclusions ................................................................................................................ 11 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

This report responds to the obligation set for the Commission by Article 16(4) of Regulation 
(EU)  No  1169/20111  on  the  provision  of  food  information  to  consumers  (the  Regulation). 
This provision exempts alcoholic beverages containing more than 1,2 % by volume of alcohol 
from  the  mandatory  list  of  ingredients  and  the  nutrition  declaration  and  states  that    the 
Commission shall produce a report addressing whether alcoholic beverages should in future 
be covered, in particular, by the requirement to provide the information on the energy value, 
and  the  reasons  justifying  possible  exemptions,  taking  into  account  the  need  to  ensure 
coherence  with  other  relevant  Union  policies  and  considering  in  this  context  the  need  to 
propose a definition of 'alcopops'. 

The Regulation establishes the basis for a high level of consumer protection in relation to food 
information,  ensuring  that  consumers  are  not  misled  by  food  labels and  can  make  informed 
choices. The list of ingredients and the nutrition declaration are among the key particulars that 
allow these informed choices.  

While nutrition labelling can play a certain role in the promotion of a more moderate alcohol 
consumption, the issue of the labelling of the list of ingredients and the nutrition declaration 
for  alcoholic  beverages  is  examined  in  this  report  under  the  perspective  of  consumer 
information about the identity and the properties of a food. 

This  report  builds  on  the  positions  on  the  labelling  of  alcoholic  beverages  which  were 
expressed by the different interested parties before and after the adoption of the Regulation. 

1   Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on the provision of 
food  information  to  consumers,  amending  Regulations  (EC)  No  1924/2006  and  (EC)  No 1925/2006  of  the  European 
Parliament  and  of  the  Council,  and  repealing  Commission  Directive  87/250/EEC,  Council  Directive  90/496/EEC, 
Commission Directive 1999/10/EC, Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, Commission 
Directives 2002/67/EC and 2008/5/EC and Commission Regulation (EC) No 608/2004, OJ L 304, 22.11.2011, p. 18. 

3 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
2. 

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 

The specific regime for alcoholic beverages does not originate from the Regulation. 
Regarding the list of ingredients, the issue goes back to the first general labelling legislation2 
adopted at EU level, where it was provided that 'in the case of beverages containing more than 
1,2%  by  volume  of  alcohol,  the  Council,  acting  on  a  proposal  from  the  Commission,  shall, 
before 22 December 1982, determine the rules for labelling ingredients'. 
The  Commission  presented  proposals  to  address  this  request  in  19823  and  in  19924  but  the 
Council  could  not  agree  on  any  of  those  proposals.  The  Commission  then  presented  a  new 
proposal in February 19975, which was finally put on the agenda of a Council Working Group 
in December 2002. At that meeting, the majority of Member States agreed that the labelling of 
ingredients of  alcoholic  beverages  should  be  more  in  line with  the  revised  general  labelling 
rules. 
Subsequent  to  these  discussions,  although  the  specific  EU  requirements6  for  labelling 
ingredients, which may cause allergies or intolerances, covered also alcoholic beverages, no 
rules were introduced for the labelling of ingredients in general of alcoholic beverages. 

According to the Commission proposal for the Regulation on food information to consumers, 
alcoholic  beverages,  including  'alcopops'  (alcoholic  mixed  beverages,  like  the  mix  of  a  soft 
drink with a spirit), were covered by the requirement to label mandatorily a list of ingredients 
and a nutrition declaration,  except  beer, wine and spirits7. On the initiative of the European 
Parliament,  this  exemption  was  extended  to  all  alcoholic  beverages,  and  the  adopted 
Regulation required the Commission to provide the present report. 

3. 

EU LEGAL FRAMEWORK ON THE LABELLING OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES 

Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 

3.1. 
The  Regulation  maintains  the  mandatory  list  of  ingredients8  and  introduces  mandatory 
nutrition  declaration  (energy  value  and  the  amounts  of  fat,  saturates,  carbohydrate,  sugars, 
protein and salt) as from 16 December 20169. Alcoholic beverages are not covered by these 
provisions. 

2   Council  Directive  79/112/EEC  on  the  approximation  of  the  laws  of  the  Member  States  relating  to  the  labelling, 

presentation and advertising of foodstuffs for sale to the ultimate consumer - OJ L 33, 08.02.1979, p. 1-14. 

3   Proposal  for  a  Council Directive  amending Directive  79/112/EEC  on  the  approximation of  the  laws  of  the 
Member  States  relating  to  the  labelling,  presentation  and  advertising  of  foodstuffs  for  sale  to  the  ultimate 
consumer, COM(82)626 final. 

4   Proposal  for  a  Council Directive  amending Directive  79/112/EEC  on  the  approximation of  the  laws  of  the 

Member States relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs, COM(91)536 final. 

5   Proposal  for  a  European  Parliament  and  Council  Directive  amending  Directive  79/112/EEC  on  the 
approximation  of  the  laws  of  the  Member  States  relating  to  the  labelling,  presentation  and  advertising  of 
foodstuffs , COM(97)20 final. 

6   Directive  2003/89/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  10  November  2003  amending  Directive 
-  OJ  L  308,  25.11.2003,  

ingredients  present 

indication  of 

foodstuffs 

regards 

the 

in 

2000/13/EC  as 
p. 15-18. 

7   Proposal  for  a  Regulation  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  the  provision  of  food  information  to 

consumers, COM(2008)0040 final. 

8   Article 19 of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 lists certain foods which are not required to bear a list of ingredients, such 
as uncut fresh fruits and vegetables, carbonated water, the description of which indicates that it has been carbonated and 
fermented vinegars derived exclusively from a single basic product, provided no other ingredient has been added. 

9   Annex  V  of  Regulation  (EU)  No  1169/2011  provides  a  list  of  foods  which  are  exempted  from  the  requirement  of  the 
mandatory nutrition declaration. It includes products for which consumers are aware of the nutritional value, such as salt 
and unprocessed foods like fruit and vegetables. It also contains products consumed in small quantities and/or with no 

4 

 
 
                                                 
Regarding  the  list  of  ingredients,  similarly  to  the  previous  legislation,  Article  21  on  the 
labelling  of  certain  substances  or  products  causing  allergies  or  intolerances  applies  to 
alcoholic  beverages.  Therefore,  consumers  are  informed  when  a  substance  or  a  product, 
amongst those listed in Annex II to the Regulation as the most common allergens, is present 
in alcoholic beverages, like sulphites added to wine. However, other food ingredients which 
were  not  considered  by  the  co-legislators  for  the  listing  of  substances  that  could  trigger 
allergic  reactions  in  certain  groups  of  consumers  are  not  in  Annex  II  to  the  Regulation  and 
would therefore not be present on the label of alcoholic beverages due to the absence of a list 
of  ingredients.  Although  there  is  no  requirement  for  alcoholic  beverages  to  list  their 
ingredients,  food  business  operators  may  voluntarily  provide  this  information  to  the 
consumers. Such information, in accordance with Article 36 of the Regulation, shall comply 
with the provisions governing the mandatory listing of ingredients. 

Article 41 of the Regulation allows Member States to maintain national measures as regards 
the listing of ingredients of alcoholic beverages pending the adoption of harmonised EU rules. 

Regarding  the  nutrition  labelling,  recital  42  of  the  Regulation  encourages  food  business 
operators to provide on a voluntary basis the information contained in the nutrition declaration 
for foods such as alcoholic beverages for which the possibility should be given to declare only 
limited elements of the nutrition declaration. To this end, the Regulation allows the voluntary 
nutrition declaration on alcoholic beverages to be limited to the energy value. 

Annex  XIV  to  the  Regulation  provides  conversion  factors  for  the  calculation  of  energy. 
Alcohol  energy  value  shall  be  calculated  using  the  conversion  factor  of  29  kJ/g,  which 
corresponds to 7 kcal/g. 

Point (k) of Article 9 of the Regulation requests the labelling of the actual alcoholic strength 
by  volume  for  beverages  containing  more  than  1,2%  by  volume  of  alcohol,  a  mandatory 
particular already requested in the previous legislation10. 

Other EU provisions on the labelling of alcoholic beverages 

3.2. 
Regulation  (EU)  No 1308/201311  provides  an  exhaustive  set  of  technical  standards  which 
fully cover all  oenological  practices,  manufacturing  methods  and means of presentation and 
labelling  of  wines.  This  Regulation  describes  the  substances  likely  to  be  used  in  the 
production process, together with the conditions for their use via a positive list of oenological 
practices and treatments. 
According to EU legislation on spirits12, where the labelling of a spirit drink indicates the raw 
material  used  to  produce  the  ethyl  alcohol  of  agricultural  origin,  each  agricultural  alcohol 
used  shall  be  mentioned  in  descending  order  of  the  quantity  used.  This  legislation  also 
regulates  the  labelling  of  the  maturation  period,  the  term  'blend',  and  the  geographical 
indications. 

significant nutritional impact such as herbs and spices, coffee and tea. Another exempted food category consists in food, 
including handcrafted food, directly supplied by the manufacturer of small quantities of products to the final consumer or 
to local retail establishments directly supplying the final consumer. Alcoholic beverages, placed on the market under such 
conditions, can fall into this category. 

10   Commission Directive 87/250/EEC on the indication of alcoholic strength by volume in the labelling of alcoholic 

beverages for sale to the ultimate consumer - OJ L 113, 30.4.1987, p. 57. 

11   Regulation  (EU)  No  1308/2013  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  17  December  2013  establishing  a 
common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) 
No 234/79, (EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007 – OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 672. 

12   Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the definition, description, presentation, 

labelling and protection of geographical indications of spirit drinks - OJ L 39, 13.2.2008, p. 16. 

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Aromatised  wines,  aromatized  wine-based  drinks  and  aromatized  wine-product  cocktails13 
have  to  comply  with  processing  and  compositional  standards,  and  also  specific  labelling 
requirements on the designation for sale and on the nature of the alcohol, i.e. the raw material 
used for the alcohol production. 

Alcoholic  beverages  are  prohibited  to  bear  health  claims  and  the  only  permitted  nutrition 
claims  are  the  ones  referring  to  low  alcohol  levels  and  reduction  of  alcohol  or  energy 
content14. When such nutrition claims are made, the nutrition declaration is required. 

4. 

LEGISLATION  OF  MEMBER STATES,  SITUATION  AT  INTERNATIONAL  LEVEL  AND  IN 
THIRD COUNTRIES 

4.1.  Member States 

Only  the  legislative  initiatives  by  Member  States  related  to  the  list  of  ingredients  and  the 
nutrition declaration are reported here. 

Some Member States (Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, 
Ireland,  Luxembourg,  Portugal,  Lithuania  and  Romania)  maintained  or  adopted  national 
measures imposing additional labelling requirements on ingredients or certain ingredients for 
alcoholic beverages or certain alcoholic beverages. 

Concerning the nutrition declaration, Austria requires the labelling of the amount of sugar for 
certain wine products. Although for the nutrition declaration, Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 
does  not  provide  the  same  flexibility  regarding  national  measures  compared  with  the  list  of 
ingredients,  Romania15  and  Ireland16  notified,  within  the  framework  of  the  notification 
procedure laid down by Directive (EU) No 2015/153517, draft legislation requesting nutrition 
labelling particulars for alcoholic beverages. 

4.2. 

International organisations and third countries 

At  international  level,  the  Codex  Alimentarius  Standard  on  the  labelling  of  pre-packaged 
foods18  does  not  exempt  alcoholic  beverages  from  the  provision  of  the  mandatory  list  of 
ingredients. 
Following  the  Codex  Guidelines  on  nutrition  labelling19,  the  nutrition  declaration  should  be 
mandatory except where national circumstances would not support such declaration. Certain 
foods  may  be  exempted,  for  example  on the  basis  of  nutritional  or  dietary insignificance  or 
small packaging. 

In a number of third countries such as the USA, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Mexico, New 
Zealand, Russia, and Switzerland, it is mandatory to provide the list of ingredients for certain 
alcoholic beverages. 

13   Regulation  (EU)  No  251/2014  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  26  February  2014  on  the  definition, 
description,  presentation,  labelling  and  the  protection  of  geographical  indications  of  aromatised  wine  products  and 
repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 1601/91 – OJ L 84, 20.3.2014, p. 14-34. 

14   Regulation  (EC)  No  1924/2006  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  20  December  2006  on  

nutrition and health claims made on foods, OJ L 404, 30.12.2006, p. 9–25. 

15   Technical Regulations Information System (TRIS) reference: 2014/611/RO 
16   Technical Regulations Information System (TRIS) reference: 2016/42/IRL  
17   Directive  (EU)  No  2015/1535  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  9  September  2015  laying  down  a 
procedure  for  the  provision  of  information  in  the  field  of  technical  regulations  and  of  rules  on  Information  Society 
services, OJ L 241, 17.9.2015, p. 1. 

18   General Standard for the labelling of pre-packaged foods CODEX STAN 1-1985, last revised in 2010. 
19   Codex Guidelines on nutrition labelling CAC/GL 2-1985, lastly revised in 2013. 

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5. 

CONSUMER KNOWLEDGE AND INTEREST 

As part of the Commission-mandated study on the impact of food information on consumers' 
decision  making20,  consumer  behaviour  vis-à-vis  information  on  alcoholic  beverages  was 
investigated.  After  having  been  informed  about  the  energy  content  of  alcoholic  drinks  like 
beer,  wine  and  spirits,  2031  respondents  from  8  Member  States  were  asked  about  the  ideal 
information  to  be  provided  on  alcoholic  drinks  in  the  future;  almost  half  (49%)  of  the 
participants wanted information on the energy value of alcoholic beverages, and 16% declared 
their intention to reduce their alcohol consumption on the basis of this information. 

According  to  a  study21  carried  out  in  2014  and  commissioned  by  a  brewers'  association, 
consumers’  knowledge  of  the  nutritional  value  and  ingredients  information  of  alcoholic 
beverages  is  limited.  The  study  aimed  at  providing  a  representative  overview  by  involving 
almost 5400 respondents in six Member States. The results of this study show that consumers 
have a knowledge deficit of the carbohydrate, calorie and fat content of the different types of 
alcoholic beverages studied (beer, wine and spirits) and of the different ingredients that can be 
used in their production. As shown in figure 1, the study also demonstrates that there is a big 
interest in receiving the same information on ingredients and nutritional values for alcoholic 
beverages as currently provided for other food and drink products. 

Figure 1: interest in the same nutrition and ingredients information for all food and drink 

products, regardless of whether they contain alcohol or not 

Source: GfK Belgium (2014) 

The same study also provided information on the access and use of this information off-label. 
It appears that between 34% and 51% of respondents consulted this information occasionally, 
often or always (figure 2). 

20   TNS European Behaviour Studies Consortium, Study on the impact of food information on consumers' decision making 

(2014). 

21   Consumer  insights  -  knowledge  of  ingredient  and  nutrition  information  off-label  information  and  its  use  - 

Report GfK Belgium (2014). 

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Figure 2: use of off-label information sources to access information on nutrition values and  

ingredients of alcoholic beverages 

Source: GfK Belgium (2014) 

STAKEHOLDERS 

6. 
As a baseline, the position of the different actors on alcohol labelling is reported in a survey22 
done  at  the  time  when  the  Commission  tabled  the  proposal  for  a  Regulation  on  food 
information to consumers. It provides the positions of producers, retailers, public authorities, 
and non-governmental organisations. 

Figure 3: reactions to the statement 'Alcohol labels should mention a list of ingredients and 

nutritional properties of the beverage' 

Source: CRIOC (2007) 

22   Alcohol  labelling  and  health  warnings  -  Delphi  survey  Centre  de  Recherche  et  d'Information  des  Organisations  de 

Consommateurs (CRIOC) (2007).  

8 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
Since this inquiry, some of these positions have evolved. 
Consumer  representatives  argue23  that  the  inconsistency  in  the  labelling  between  alcoholic 
beverages  and  other  foods  is  unacceptable  and  that  the  list  of  ingredients  and  the  nutrition 
declaration should be mandatory for all alcoholic beverages in order to help consumers make 
informed choices about what and how much to drink. 

A  European  beer  consumer  organisation  also  called  for  the  mandatory  list  of  ingredients  of 
alcoholic beverages24. 

Public health associations support mandatory labelling of ingredients and nutrition declaration 
as  part  of  a  comprehensive  strategy  to  provide  information  and  educate  consumers  about 
alcohol,  as  according  to  a  group  of  non-governmental  and  public  health  organisations 
advocating prevention and reduction of alcohol related harm in Europe25, consumers have the 
right  to  know  the  ingredients  contained  in  the  alcoholic  beverages  they  drink.  More 
importantly,  nutrition  information  such  as  the  energy  content  should  be  provided  to  allow 
consumers to monitor better their diets and facilitate a healthy lifestyle. 

The  industry  position  on  the  matter  has  recently  evolved  significantly.  Whereas  in  the  past 
food  business  operators  were  opposed  to  any  additional  labelling  requirement,  today  the 
majority of sectors acknowledge that consumers have the right to know about the content of 
their  drinks  and  a  number  of  concerted  or  independent  voluntary  initiatives  are  being 
developed and implemented by the actors of the different sectors to provide consumers with 
additional information. 

According  to  an  association  representing  the  European  brewers,  consumers  have  a  right  to 
know  what  they  consume.  A  voluntary  initiative  was  organised  by  those  brewers  across 
Europe,  the  European  Beer  Pledge26,  whose  members  committed  to  taking  concerted  and 
measurable action to improve consumer information by providing, among others, the nutrition 
information on beers. They consider that the choice should be given to operators to provide 
this information on the label or on other platforms such as websites or quick response (QR)-
code-driven applications27, in which case a clear link to the information should appear on the 
beer label. Some members of the organisation already include on voluntary basis information 
on  or  off  the  label  on  the  list  of  ingredients,  the  calories  or  the  full  nutrition  declaration 
(energy, fat, saturates, carbohydrate, sugars, protein and salt)28. 

The  spirit  sector  is  of  the  opinion  that  consumers  would  benefit  from  clearer  and  more 
meaningful  information  on  what  is  in  their  drink  and  should  receive  consistent  information 
about  responsible  consumption  of  spirits  to  enable  them  to  make  healthier  lifestyle choices. 
The  sector  supports  the  provision  of  tailored  information  to  consumers  on  calorie  content. 
This information could be provided by means other than an indication on the label. This could 
give full access to such information from more consumer-friendly alternative vehicles. While 
some producers are committed to provide such information on-label, many spirits producers 
are already providing the energy value on their website as well as through social media and 

23   Informed  food  choices  for  healthier  consumers  –  European  Consumer  Organisation’s  (BEUC)  position  on  nutrition 

(2015).  

24   European Beer Consumers Union Manifesto 2009-2014. 
25   Eurocare Reflections On Alcohol Labelling (2014).. 
26   Second year report - November 2014 European Beer Pledge - A package of responsibility initiatives from Europe’s 

Brewers. 

27   A quick response code is a type of 2D bar code that is used to provide easy access to information through for example a 

smartphone. 

28   Information provided by Brewers of Europe on 14 October 2016. 

9 

 
 
                                                 
other platforms29 and some of them have committed to extend the content of this information 
to provide the full nutrition declaration30. 

The wine sector considers that a balanced diet is a key element for a healthy lifestyle and that 
consumers  should  carefully  choose  what  they  drink  and  what  they  eat.  The  sector  is 
committed  to  voluntary  providing  consumers  with  nutrition  information  on  calories  in  an 
adapted  way  and  off-label  supports  are  highly  privileged31.  The  sector  has  launched  a 
concerted action and provides, on a common website, information on calories per serve and 
per category of wine32. 
A  multinational  company  producing  spirits,  wine  and  beer  made  commitments  to  provide 
consumers  with  the  full  nutrition  declaration  per  serve  and  per  100  ml  on  the  label  and  to 
apply  it  to  all  the  alcohol  beverages  of  its  portfolio.  The  new  on-pack  nutrition  label  has 
already  been  developed  on  the  basis  of  a  survey  which  was  conducted  around  the  world  to 
determine  what  information  to  include  and  how  best  to  do  so.  The  changes  will  be 
progressively  implemented  on  the  packaging  with  the  objective  to  commercialise  the  first 
products with the new label beginning of 201733.  

Some  of  these  commitments34,35  are  also  taken  in  the  context  of  the  European  Alcohol  and 
Health  Forum,  a  platform  where  bodies  active  at  European  level  can  debate,  compare 
approaches and act to tackle alcohol related harm. 

It  is  too  early  to  make  any  assessment  of  impact  of  these  recent  voluntary  initiatives. 
However,  it  can  be  expected  that  they  may  raise  the  interest  of  the  consumers  for  a  more 
systematic provision of the list of ingredients and the nutrition declaration.  

Producers  of  alcoholic  beverages  are  generally  of  the  view  that  any  new  requirements 
regarding labelling should apply equally to all types of alcoholic beverages36,37. 

7. 

CALLS FOR ACTION 

7.1.  World Health Organisation 

Following the World Health Organisation's European Action Plan to reduce the harmful use 
of  alcohol  2012–202038,  the  'ingredients  relevant  to  health,  including  the  calorie  content' 
should be labelled and, in general, the labelling of alcoholic beverages should be the same as 
for the other foods, in order to ensure that consumers have access to complete information on 
the content and composition of the product for the protection of both their health and interests. 
This  action  plan  was  endorsed  by  53  countries  including  the  EU  Member  States  at  the 
Regional Committee for Europe in September 2011. 

29   http://spirits.eu/page.php?id=28&parent_id=5 consulted on 7 April 2016. 
30   Information provided by Spirits Europe on 13 October 2016. 
31   Information provided by the Comité européen des vins on 3 June 2016. 
32   http://www.wineinmoderation.eu/en/content/Wine-Diet.82/ consulted on 14 October 2016. 
33   http://www.diageo.com/en-row/newsmedia/pages/resource.aspx?resourceid=2929 consulted on 13 October 2016 
34   European  Alcohol  and  Health  Forum  Commitment  1447949468140-1722,  Provision  of  nutritional  and  ingredients 

information to consumers on label for all Heineken beers in Europe, Heineken International. 

35   European  Alcohol  and  Health  Forum  Commitment  1446732318481-1721,  Informing  consumers  about  beer  ingredients 

and nutritional values, The Brewers of Europe. 

36   Spirit sector position at http://spirits.eu/page.php?id=28&parent_id=5 consulted on 7 April 2016. 
37   Beer sector position at http://www.brewersofeurope.org/site/media-centre/post.php?doc_id=865 consulted on 7 April 

2016. 

38   European action plan to reduce the harmful use of alcohol 2012–2020, WHO Europe. 

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The World Health Organisation furthermore considers that energy value is the most important 
nutritional value to label.  

European Parliament and Council 

7.2. 
In the context of a Resolution39 adopted on 29 April 2015, the European Parliament calls upon 
the Commission, amongst others, to present a legislative proposal requiring calorie content on 
alcoholic beverages labels by 2016.  According to the Resolution, whereas Regulation (EU) 
No  1169/2011  excluded  alcoholic  beverages  from  the  mandatory  provision  of  the  list  of 
ingredients  and  the  nutrition  declaration  labelling,  comprehensive  information  regarding 
alcoholic beverages is nevertheless necessary, given the nature of alcohol-related risks. 

Numerous written questions on the labelling of alcoholic beverages were also submitted to the 
Commission, asking for the present report, underlining the lack of justification of the current 
exemptions  to  label  the  list  of  ingredients  and  the  nutrition  declaration,  and  calling  for 
legislative initiatives reinforcing the labelling of alcoholic beverages. 
In  its  conclusions40  adopted  on  7  December  2015,  the  Council  invites  the  Commission  to 
consider  the  possibility  to  introduce  mandatory  labelling  of  ingredients  and  mandatory 
nutrition declaration, in particular the energy value, of alcoholic beverages. 

7.3. 

Consultation of Member States' experts by the Commission 

In the preparatory phase for this report, a meeting of a working group of the Commission on 
Regulation  (EU)  No  1169/2011  was  organised  on  28  October  2013  to  discuss  the  issues 
covered  by  the  report  with  Member  States'  experts  from  the  national  competent  authorities; 
this  discussion  also  addressed  the  definition  of  'alcopops',  which  tend  to  be  pre-mixed 
alcoholic/non-alcoholic products. Many Member States' experts consider that it is unjustified 
and inconsistent that on the label of soft drinks, ingredients mixed with alcohol do not have to 
be declared while ingredients of a soft drink without the alcohol would have to be declared. 
Similarly,  there  is  no  justification  why  a  soft  drink  should  provide  a  nutrition  declaration 
when the same soft drink mixed with a spirit would be exempted from such declaration. 

In addition, it appeared in the discussion that the notion of 'alcopops' was not always pertinent 
at national level and was also too  vague  to  allow for a constructive definition. Moreover,  it 
was  considered  that,  a  priori  and  without  prejudging  any  justified  exemption,  all  alcoholic 
beverages  including  'alcopops'  should  be  treated  equally  for  the  labelling  particulars  under 
consideration.  

8. 

CONCLUSIONS 

Under the current rules, unlike for other foods, the indication of the list of ingredients and the 
nutrition declaration is not obligatory for alcoholic beverages. With the nutrition declaration 
having become mandatory for the vast majority of pre-packed food as of 13 December 2016, 
the particular situation of alcoholic beverages is now even more salient. European consumers 
have therefore reduced access to the nutrition declaration and to the list of ingredients with the 
exception of ingredients which may have an allergenic effect. 

The  European  Parliament,  but  also  the  World  Health  Organisation,  consumer  and  public 
health organisations are now asking for new labelling rules for alcoholic beverages, especially 
concerning  the  labelling  of  the  energy  value.  Member  States'  experts  indicated  some 

39   European Parliament resolution of 29 April 2015 on Alcohol Strategy [2015/2543(RSP)]. 
40   Council conclusions on an EU strategy on the reduction of alcohol related harm (2015), OJ C418, 16.12.2015, p. 6-8. 

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expectations,  especially  regarding  the  nutrition  declaration,  and  more  particularly  for  the 
mandatory labelling of the energy value.  

In  the  past,  the  economic  sectors  concerned  have  voiced  their  opposition  to  a  mandatory 
labelling regime. Today, the sector acknowledges the right of consumers to know what they 
are  drinking.  On  that  basis,  an  increasing  number  of  voluntary  initiatives  have  emerged 
providing  consumers  with  information  on  the  ingredients,  the  energy  value  or  the  full 
nutrition declaration of alcoholic beverages and addressing consumers’ expectations for more 
information on the drinks they consume. Originally, such voluntary information was mainly 
accessible through new information and communication technologies. However, according to 
information from the sector, it should now increasingly be found on the labels themselves. 

In  view  of  the  lack  of  legal  action  in  this  area,  some  Member  States  have  adopted  national 
rules  requesting  partial  indication  of  ingredients  for  certain  alcoholic  drinks.  Even  if  the 
provisions  for  the  nutrition  declaration  are  fully  harmonised,  some  Member  States  are  also 
notifying national measures addressing the nutrition declaration for alcoholic beverages. Such 
national initiatives contribute to an increased risk of market fragmentation. 

The list of ingredients and the nutrition declaration are key information particulars that help 
consumers  to  make  more  informed  and  healthier  choices.  The  exemptions  from  the  list  of 
ingredients  and  from  the  nutrition  declaration  for  certain  foods  cover,  mainly,  single 
ingredient  products,  whose  name  suffice  to  inform  the  consumers  about  their  content,  like 
salt, fruits and vegetables. However, in the case of alcoholic beverages, it cannot be assumed 
that  consumers  are  necessarily  aware  of  the  generally  various  ingredients  used  in  the 
production process and of their nutritional value. 

On  the  basis  of  the  information  reviewed,  the  Commission  has  not  identified  objective 
grounds that would justify the absence of information on ingredients and nutrition information 
on  alcoholic  beverages  or  a  differentiated  treatment  for  some  alcoholic  beverages,  such  as 
'alcopops'.  At  this  stage,  the  Commission  therefore  sees  no  need  or  clear  added  value  for  a 
specific definition of 'alcopops' for labelling purposes. 

This report shows that the sector is increasingly prepared to provide responses to consumers' 
expectations  to  know  what  they  are  drinking.  This  is  demonstrated  by  the  expansion  of 
concerted  or  independent  voluntary  initiatives  developed  and  implemented  by  the  sector  to 
provide consumers with information on the list of ingredients, the energy value and/or the full 
nutrition  declaration  on  or  off  label.  It  has  to  be  particularly  noted  that  a  rising  number  of 
alcoholic beverages present on the EU market already bear the full nutrition declaration. 

Taking into account these recent developments, the Commission considers that as a first step, 
current  voluntary  initiatives  should  be  allowed  to  develop  further  so  as  to  provide  list  of 
ingredients and nutrition declaration. It therefore invites the industry to respond to consumers' 
expectations  and  present  within  a  year  of  adoption  of  this  report  a  self-regulatory  proposal 
that  would  cover  the  entire  sector  of  alcoholic  beverages.  The  Commission  will  assess  the 
industry's proposal.  

Should  the  Commission  consider  the  self-regulatory  approach  proposed  by  the  industry  as 
unsatisfactory, it would then launch an impact assessment to review further available options: 
in line with Better Regulation principles41 this impact assessment would consider regulatory 
as well as non-regulatory options, in particular, regarding, the provision of information on the 
energy value of alcoholic beverages; such assessment should carefully consider the impact of 

41   http://ec.europa.eu/smart-regulation/guidelines/toc_guide_en.htm 

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different  options  on  the  internal  market,  on  the  economic  sectors  concerned,  on  consumers' 
needs and the actual use of this information, as well as on international trade. 

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