The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have released the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This new edition of the Dietary Guidelines includes, for the first time, significant language which recognizes that all drinks are not created equally, noting that, “Packaged (e.g., canned beer, bottled wine) and mixed beverages (e.g., margarita, rum and soda, mimosa, sangria) vary in alcohol content. For this reason it is important to determine how many alcoholic drink-equivalents are in the beverage and limit intake.”
“The new version of the Dietary Guidelines is a positive development for American consumers,” said NBWA President & CEO Craig Purser. “NBWA is pleased that HHS and USDA have recognized that the definition of a standard drink can be misleading and generate confusion for consumers.”
In a joint letter, NBWA, the Beer Institute, the Brewers Association and the Wine Institute asked specifically for the Dietary Guidelines to offer consumers more complete and accurate information about alcohol consumption than the 2010 Dietary Guidelines.
“The 2015 Dietary Guidelines are a step in the right direction for consumers,” added Purser.
The National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) represents the interests of America’s 3,300 licensed, independent beer distributor operations in every state, congressional district and media market across the country. Beer distributors are committed to ensuring alcohol is provided safely and responsibly to consumers of legal drinking age through the three-tier, state-based system of alcohol regulation and distribution. To learn more about America’s beer distributors, visit www.nbwa.org. For additional updates from NBWA, subscribe to The Daily Brew newsletter, follow @NBWABeer on Twitter, watch NBWA videos on YouTube and visit https://www.facebook.com/pages/NBWABeer.
