Do product labels from the top 150 beer, 150 spirits, and 150 wine brands sold in the United States contain voluntary information about calorie, nutrient, and ingredient content?
The answer is no, according to a study by researchers at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, or CSPI, an advocacy group, published in Public Health Nutrition.
Only 28 percent of beer brands, 12 percent of spirits brands, and not a single wine brand applied the federal government’s voluntary Serving Facts label for beer, wine, and spirits, CSPI researchers Eva Greenthal, Sarah Sorscher, and Aviva Musicus found. The label is similar to the Nutrition Facts label for foods and is the current standard for nutrition information on alcoholic beverages.
The voluntary label was established by the Treasury Department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, or TTB, in 2013 after a 2003 CSPI petition asked for a mandatory label.
Unlike nearly all other foods and beverages, basic information such as calories, ingredients, and nutritional content isn’t currently required on labels for most alcoholic beverages. A 2024 poll of 1,500 U.S. adults who drink alcohol found that the majority want more information on alcohol labels.
While labeling of most foods and non-alcoholic beverages in the U.S. is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the labeling of beer, wine, and spirits is regulated by the TTB.
In 2016, several major beer companies joined the Beer Institute’s Brewers’ Voluntary Disclosure Initiative, committing to provide “a serving facts statement consistent with TTB’s guidelines” on product labels by the end of 2020.
However, the new study found that among brands that signed on to this initiative, only 34 percent used the full Serving Facts label. Eighty-seven percent had just part of the Serving Facts label – the statement of average analysis – which includes calorie, carb, fat, and protein content but not serving size, servings per container, alcohol content, or the words “Serving Facts.”
The study, conducted on alcohol products sold in 2021, also found that only 17 percent of beer brands and no spirits or wine brands provided full ingredients lists on their labels.
This is concerning because a wide range of food additives that can be added to alcoholic beverage products, as well as the use of ingredients derived from egg, milk, fish, and other ingredients that pose serious risks to the millions of U.S. adults with food allergies, Eva Greenthal, senior policy scientist at CSPI and lead author of the study, said in a statement.
As the study shows, voluntary labeling initiatives are often ineffective at adequately providing information. Further regulatory action is needed, said Greenthal.
The CSPI first petitioned the TTB in 2003 to require alcohol labels to disclose the same basic information that consumers expect for non-alcoholic beverages and food products. In 2022, CSPI, along with Consumer Federation of America and the National Consumers League, sued the TTB for failing to act on that petition after nearly 20 years. Then, the TTB committed to starting new rulemakings on alcohol and nutritional labeling, major food allergen labeling, and ingredient labeling.
The TTB issued proposed rules on alcohol and nutritional content and major allergen labeling in January 2025. However, it has delayed issuance of a proposal on ingredient labeling and final rules on nutrition and allergen labeling. The Trump Administration’s 2026 Unified Agenda indicates all three rules will be released in March 2027.
The CSPI urges the TTB to release the rules no later than the March 2027 deadline.
“It’s preposterous that after 23 years, Americans are still waiting for federal action to hold the alcohol industry accountable to the same basic transparency requirements as all other consumable products,” she said.
Greenthal said the study shows that voluntary industry promises have failed to deliver meaningful results.
“It’s time for TTB to finish the job it started by publishing and finalizing strong, mandatory alcohol labeling rules without further delay,” she said.
