Fat bottoms up: Calorie labels could be added to bottles of wine, beer and spirits in a new drive to put us off drinking
- Health minister Anna Soubry confirms to MailOnline that she is in talks with the drinks industry about giving details of how fattening alcohol is
- A single measure of spirits contains more calories than the same amount of single cream while a pint of lager is equivalent to a slice of pizza
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The calorie count of wine, beer and spirits could be added to labels in a fresh attempt to deter people from drinking.
Ministers are in talks with the drinks industry about warning the public about how fattening alcohol can be.
Official guidance points out that a measure of spirits has more calories than the equivalent amount of single cream and booze accounts for 9 per cent of the average adult’s calorie intake.
The calorie count of alcoholic drinks could be displayed in pubs and shops under plans to warn people about how fattening booze can be
Four in five alcohol drinks will give display healthy eating information by the end of the year, but health minister Anna Soubry confirmed to MailOnline that the government could go further and include details of calorie levels on labels.
The straight-talking minister has made headlines in recent weeks for her drive to make the public healthier, including suggesting that poor families are more likely to be obese and describing office workers' lunchtime habit of eating a sandwich at their desk as 'disgusting'.
The coalition government has repeatedly ruled out using the law to force food and drink firms to give more information to customers.
But using Responsibility Deals it has reached voluntary agreements with leading producers to make clearer how healthy what they sell is.
Dozens of companies including McDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut signed up to a deal to provide calorie information on menus for non-alcohol food and drink.
Health minister Anna Soubry is in talks with industry leaders about adding calorie information to alcoholic drinks
Now the warnings could go further and be added to beer and wine on sale in shops and even pubs.
A survey by charity DrinkAware found almost half of people knew how many calories there were in a cheeseburger but just one in three knew how fattening a glass of wine is.
A glass of wine has almost the same number of calories as four cookies while a pint of lager is equivalent to a slice of pizza.
A single 25ml measure of spirits has more calories (56kcal) than the same amount of single cream (47kcal), the government warns.
A gin and tonic contains 126 calories, a bottle of white wine 555 and a pint of lager or cider around 250.
Experts also point out that drinkers also tend to eat high-fat snacks like crisps, nuts, chips and kebabs.
A Department of Health survey in 2009 found that one in three people ordered crisps, nuts or pork scratchings with an alcohol drink.
The average wine drinker consumes an extra 2,000 calories a month, equivalent to 38 roast beef dinners a year.
The government negotiated new EU rules to allow for ‘at-a-glance voluntary nutrition information in a wide variety of settings’ including on alcohol.
Mrs Soubry, Public Health Minister said: ‘We're continuing to work with industry to take forward the plans we set out in the alcohol strategy on labelling of alcoholic drinks.
‘By the end of this year, 80 per cent of all alcoholic drinks on shop shelves will include clear labelling on units and health messages.
‘Through the Responsibility Deal we will continue to discuss how to give consumers more information on alcoholic drinks, including calorie labelling.’
A survey by Drinkaware, backed by TV presenter Lisa Faulkner, found people have no idea how many calories are in alcoholic drinks despite pledges to lose weight
Retailers including Asda, Sainsbury’s and Tesco are working with the Department of Health on how to display calorie counts on alcohol. The Co-Op already includes some calorie information on its own brand beer, wine, cider and spirits.
The Alcohol Network of the Responsibility Deal is ‘looking to develop further pledges which could also support calorie reduction’.
As part of a deal with the government, Heineken agreed to reduce the strength of a major brand of beer, removing 100m units of alcohol from our consumption each year – the equivalent of 5.6bn calories. Now ministers want to develop similar pledges.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2271878/Fat-bottoms-Calorie-labels-added-bottles-wine-beer-spirits-new-drive-drinking.html#ixzz2JfLlhqQi
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