300 brands of liquor to list calories, carbs

By Naomi Syder
The Tennessean

Ever wonder how many calories are in a shot of Smirnoff Raspberry Twist? Or exactly how far off the Atkins diet a pint of Guinness will put you?

The company that owns those brands is planning to tell you.

Diageo, a United Kingdom company that sells more than 300 brands of beer, wine and spirits, is planning to add nutrition labels to its U.S. products this year listing alcohol content, serving size, carbohydrates and calories.

Consumer groups petitioned the U.S. Treasury last month to mandate nutrition-type labels on alcohol products. The National Consumers League and Center for Science in the Public Interest argue that existing labeling requirements are confusing and make it difficult to compare different types of alcohol.

For instance, malt beverages and beer are not required to carry labels detailing alcohol content, while wine and liquor are. Although the Food and Drug Administration requires ingredient lists for wine with 7 percent alcohol by volume or less, it does not require the same for beer, which can have 8 percent alcohol content.

The consumer groups also point out that people have little way of knowing the number of calories consumed in a typical beer or mixed drink, which can top that in the fattiest foods. They also want to add federal dietary advice on what constitutes moderate drinking: no more than two servings for men and one for women per day.

Diageo is opposed to mandatory label regulations. It has no plans to add federal dietary guidelines to its labels, although it may do so on its Web sites.

There may be another reason why Diageo wants to add labels. Popular low-carbohydrate diets such as Atkins and South Beach are prompting companies to roll out low-carb beers, and some spirits already are low in carbohydrates.

Dileep Sachan, a professor of nutrition at the University of Tennessee, said it doesn't make sense to put a nutrition label on alcohol, because it has no nutritional value.

"Any connotation of it being a nutrient is totally misleading and irresponsible," said Sachan, who has done research on how the body processes alcohol.

London-based Diageo, which has $15.9 billion in annual sales, owns brands such as Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker, Baileys and Jose Cuervo. It also sells wine under names such as Beaulieu Vineyards, and beer.