Diageo to print nutrition information on bottles

Diageo has become the first multi-national drinks firm to voluntarily commit to providing consumers with alcohol content and nutrition information per typical serve.

Diageo will voluntarily print alcohol content and nutrition information on the bottles of its brands

The UK drinks group will provide information on the amount of alcohol per serve and additional nutrition information for its products, displayed on packaging and/or on its responsible drinking website drinkiq.com.

Diageo said the change will be implemented “as soon as practicable” in the “majority” of its markets, with the aim helping to reduce alcohol misuse.

“Diageo puts the consumer at the heart of everything we do,” said Diageo CEO Ivan Menezes. “We are committed to ensuring our consumers have the best possible information from which to make informed choices about our products: this includes alcohol content and nutrition information per typical serve.”

“Currently, there is no obligation to provide such information in markets worldwide, but we know that consumers are increasingly discerning about what’s in their glass.

“We want to provide alcohol and nutrition information that consumers can quickly understand, instead of expecting them to do the maths.”

Diageo will work with regulators around the world to agree the format of the labels, having already gained regulatory approval in the US for a “serving facts” panel.

In the EU, alcoholic drinks are currently exempt from providing nutritional information on labels, while other foodstuffs are required to do so per 100ml.

However, Diageo claims that the measure is “misleading” because it “does not reflect the reality of the way drinkers consume alcohol”. It therefore chose to display such information per typical serve, which vary across wine, spirits and beer.

EU collaboration

The group also claimed it intends to work with the EU to establish a standard alcohol unit across its 28 member states.

Ian Duncan, MEP for Scotland and member of the European Parliament’s Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee, said Diageo’s announcement was a “hugely positive step” and was a “major improvement on the current confusing system”.

The debate over spirits labeling has been growing in recent years, with a number of organisations arguing bottles should display health warnings, calorie and other nutrition information.

The European Commission is set to publish a report looking at whether all alcoholic beverages should be required to list nutrition information in line with other food and drinks categories.

The paper was scheduled to be published in mid-December 2014, but due to internal factors, the Commission has not yet started the report.