I feel like it would be useful to know exactly how much alcohol is in a can or a bottle. Also why is alcohol the only thing measured in percentages and not sugar or caffeine or medicine?
I feel like it would be useful to know exactly how much alcohol is in a can or a bottle. Also why is alcohol the only thing measured in percentages and not sugar or caffeine or medicine?
Since everyone pretty much nailed the ABV% answer I’ll take a crack at the other. I’m guessing that the reason they don’t list other ingredients, like what food producers are required to do, is because most countries are concerned about the alcohol content more than anything else that’s in it.
In the US, and I suspect other countries, the agency that regulates alcohol is different than the one that regulates food. In the US alcohol is regulated by the ATF and food by the FDA. Since it is the FDA rules that require nutritional labels and ingredients and not the ATF, most brands don’t list much.
Additionally, alcohol recipes are often considered trade secrets and closely held which might be why rules haven’t been introduced in many places.
Here is an article that talks a little more about different breweries and if they keep their ingredients secret or not.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/life-style/food-wine/89281511/why-doesnt-alcohol-doesnt-feature-nutritional-information-on-labels
Years ago, for the US I read the answer was lack of demand from consumers.
Cue ready-to-drink products gaining popularity with newer generations and some have hit the market with nutritional labeling. Would be nice to see it mandatory across the board at this point.