WASHINGTON, D.C. (WWBT) –Changes are on the way to the nation’s most popular alcoholic beverage, but isn’t affecting what’s in the bottles and cans, but what is placed on them.
The Beer Institute has announced a new initiative, known as the Brewers’ Voluntary Disclosure Initiative, which aims to “provide consumers with meaningful information about the products they consume to empower their decision-making.”
This new initiative means more specific information will be provided about the beer consumers are drinking, including calorie count, carbohydrates, protein, fat, and Alcohol by Volume or Alcohol by Weight information.
In addition, that label would also disclose ingredients in the beer, either on the label or secondary packaging, along with a reference to a website with more information, or a QR code.
Freshness dates or a date of production would also go on all labels or primary containers.
According to The Beer Institute, which serves as the national trade association for the American brewing industry, representing both large and small brewers, the members companies who represent “more than 81 percent of the volume of beer sold in the U.S. have already agreed to comply with these standards.”
Among those the association lists as agreeing with the new label standard includes, Anheuser-Busch, MillerCoors, HeinekenUSA, Constellation Brands Beer Division, North American Breweries, as well as the Craft Brew Alliance.
“Consumers can expect to see this information in the marketplace immediately, and participating brewers and importers are being encouraged to achieve compliance across their product lines by the end of 2020,” The Beer Institute said in a statement on their website.
