Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if the Government will take steps at EU level to encourage better labelling of alcoholic drinks by providing (a) uniform information about strength and calorie content, (b) guidelines on safe drinking levels and (c) health warnings.
Jane Ellison
Current food labelling regulations, including those for alcoholic drinks, are set at a European level.
Alcoholic drinks are currently exempt under European law from needing to provide nutritional information and ingredients lists. However, there is a provision allowing the voluntary labelling of the energy content of alcoholic drinks.
We are not currently planning any national policies on nutrition labelling of alcohol. However, some businesses are choosing to label calories voluntarily on their alcoholic beverages.
Guidelines on safe drinking levels and health warnings are not being taken forward at EU level at this time. However, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) is overseeing a UK-wide review of all alcohol guidelines so that people can make informed choices about their drinking at all stages of their lives. Under the previous Government’s Responsibility Deal, independent monitoring has shown nearly 80% of bottles and cans on shelf now carry unit content, the CMO’s lower-risk guidelines and a warning about drinking when pregnant, fulfilling a Responsibility Deal pledge.
