The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) committing to encourage all its members to label ingredients and calorie values on all beer bottles and cans in the EU by 2022.
The BBPA signed the MoU as part of its membership to The Brewers of Europe, which brings together national brewers’ associations from 29 European countries and provides a voice to support the united interests of Europe’s 9,500 plus breweries.
The purpose of the MoU is to encourage producers to voluntarily declare relevant ingredient and calorie information on the labels of their products. Trade associations commit to supporting these efforts and to collect national data to allow the Brewers of Europe to report on progress to the European Commission.
The MoU 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 calorie values.
This commitment is driven by the recognition that consumers wish to receive understandable, recognisable, comparable and accurate information for all alcoholic beverages.
In the last four years, brewers have been rolling out ingredients and calorie labelling voluntarily in full accordance with Regulation (EU) 1169/20111. British brewers have been making progress towards declaring consumer information already, with 70% of beers in the UK already labelling calories and 50% featuring an ingredients list.
Brigid Simmonds, BBPA's Chief Executive, who signed the memorandum of understanding on behalf of the trade association and the members it represents (pictured), commented, “Consumers want more details on what their beer contains and are conscious about calories too.
'They also want this information to be clear and transparent. In signing this memorandum of understanding, we are encouraging our members to display more information about calorie values and ingredients on cans and bottles of beer.”