[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] From next year, consumers will be able to see more alcoholic beverage products with calorie information displayed.
On the 17th, the Fair Trade Commission and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced that they reported to the Consumer Policy Committee a plan to gradually expand the voluntary calorie labeling of alcoholic beverage products from next year through 2025. The Consumer Policy Committee is a cross-government consumer policy control tower co-chaired by the Prime Minister and a private sector chairperson, with participation from ministers of eight related ministries, 15 private members, and the head of the Korea Consumer Agency.
Nutritional information on alcoholic beverages is difficult to verify on the product surface. Because of this, there have been ongoing concerns that consumers find it difficult to select products suitable for health management. According to a 2019 survey by the Korea Consumer Agency, the average calorie content of one bottle of soju (360 ml) is 408 kcal, and one bottle of beer (500 ml) is about 236 kcal. In the case of one bottle of soju, this accounts for one-quarter of the daily recommended intake of 2,000 kcal.
The Fair Trade Commission considered mandating calorie labeling on alcoholic beverage products but decided to encourage voluntary labeling after consultations with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the alcoholic beverage industry. To this end, the Fair Trade Commission and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety plan to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with consumer organizations and six alcoholic beverage associations. The agreement will involve 70 companies with annual sales of 12 billion KRW or more by beverage type. It is expected that most well-known soju and beer products will display calorie information.
Imported beer will start displaying calories from 2024 onwards, wine will begin with products distributed in large supermarkets, and takju and yakju will display calories starting January 1 next year. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety plans to prepare a revised standard for food labeling by September to provide grounds for alcoholic beverage companies to display only calories among various nutritional components. According to current regulations, even if nutritional labeling is voluntary, nine components including calories, energy, and sodium must be displayed on the product.
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