European brewers have committed to labelling ingredients and energy values on all beer bottles and cans in the EU by 2022.
The commitment was spearheaded by the Brewers of Europe who have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with its members to form a Brewer’s Ambition.
The targets were voluntarily agreed with the European Commission and adopted by the General Assembly of The Brewers of Europe in June.
In the last four years brewers have been voluntarily rolling out ingredients and energy labelling, setting ambitious targets along the way.
Europe’s brewers have been making significant progress towards better consumer information, with 60% of beers already labelling calories, whilst 85% carry an ingredients list.
With the signing by key countries of the MoU, those numbers will already grow significantly by next year.
The purpose of the MoU is that companies take public responsibility for the declaration of ingredients and energy information on the labels of their products, whilst trade associations support these efforts including through setting local sectoral ambitions and collective reporting.
It is open to companies and associations from all alcoholic beverage sectors, provided that the signatory fully endorses the MoU and its commitment to the on-pack labelling of both ingredients and energy values.
The ultimate wish is that consumers receive understandable, recognisable, comparable and accurate information for all alcoholic beverages.
Thirty-seven initial signatories, including 25 national brewers’ associations, put their name today to the MoU and the Brewers’ Ambition 2022.
“This is a significant step in a process we started four years ago, demonstrating our members’ ambition to ensure all beers label ingredients and calories,” said Pavlos Photiades, President of the Brewers of Europe.
“Fulfilling this commitment, Europe’s brewing sector is meeting the expectations of consumers on how alcoholic beverages should be providing ingredients and calorie information.”
