04 February 2025 News

On-label alcohol beverage warnings in Ireland - setting a standard for Europe

Frank Murray

Alcohol is the most harmful product in retail food and beverage shopping, yet it is sold in most of Europe and globally without appropriate warnings or essential product information. It is alarming that products containing more than 1.2% alcohol are exempt from EU framework labelling requirements for ingredients and nutritional content. This means there is no mandatory indication of alcohol percentage, calorie content, or even the ingredients used. Such lack of transparency is unacceptable, given alcohol's well-documented harms. Read more in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe, Volume 50

  1. https://food.ec.europa.eu/food-safety/labelling-and-nutrition/food-information-consumers-legislation/alcohol-labelling_en#:∼:text=Labelling%20of%20alcoholic%20beverages%20in,of%20ingredients%20and%20nutrition%20declaration