Federal Agency Sets Policy on Carb Claims for Alcoholic Beverages

WASHINGTON--The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) issued a ruling on calorie and carbohydrate claims in labeling and advertising of alcoholic beverages. According to the agency, the trend in companies using claims such as "low calorie" or "low carbohydrate" in ads for such products raised serious concerns.

The regulation permits companies to make truthful and specific statements about calorie and carbohydrate content, but prohibits statements that are false, misleading or imply consumption of low carb alcoholic beverages may aid weight loss or be part of a healthy dietary practice. TTB plans to conduct rulemaking to set a final standard on the term "low carb;" its ruling includes an interim standard that "low carb" may only be used on beverages with no more than 7 g/serving of carbs. Furthermore, the ruling details the use of brand names or ads referring to physical health (i.e., "thin," "lean") and of serving sizes when comparing carbohydrate and/or calorie content. The ruling can be viewed online at www.ttb.gov.

TTB's move is the first by a federal agency to clarify the increasingly hazy area of low carb labeling claims in the U.S. food and beverage market. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received petitions requesting the agency provide guidance on nutrient content claims related to carbohydrate content, including a discussion of "net" carbs. So far, FDA has not acted on these petitions.