This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Australia, which closed in 2021.

A Range Of Booze Bottles Will Soon List Their Calorie Content

Just like food, juice and soft drink labels.

If you walk into a liquor store and pick up a bottle of Bundaberg Rum today, turn it over; it may look a little different.

Bundaberg Rum Original is the first brand under the umbrella of global beverage company Diageo to roll out new nutritional information panels that include calorie content per serving.

"We're always looking for ways to help consumers to make the most informed decisions about drinking -- or not drinking. This helps them to have clearer information about what's in their glass," Diageo spokesperson Kylie McPherson told The Huffington Post Australia.

"Bundaberg Rum is the first brand to have this new packaging, and we'll be putting it on all of our product range."

Diageo, behind brands such as Smirnoff, Baileys and Johnnie Walker, is the first alcohol company to introduce the labelling.

"We announced this globally in 2015. Each of our markets has looked at this separately, and in line with local legislation, so that there is consistency across our packaging range. Now, we're seeing it," McPherson said.

"If you go to another country, the labelling will look the same."

Out with the old.
Supplied
Out with the old.

So, what's different?

When you pick up a bottle of spirits, you're hopefully used to scanning for the number of standard drinks -- aka the volume of alcohol in your drink as a proportion of the drink. In Australia and New Zealand, this is a mandatory requirement for alcoholic drinks containing more than 1.5 percent alcohol.

Diageo is breaking this down for you.

"We are voluntarily providing nutritional information even though nutritional information panels are not necessarily required by legislation," McPherson said.

You'll now see the number of calories and standard drinks per serve, along with the nutritional box that you see on the back of food products.

In with the new.
Supplied
In with the new.

In line with research commissioned by the company that surveyed over 1000 Australians aged over 18, the move is responding to consumers and social trends, according to McPherson.

"Nearly three quarters of respondents said that they think it's important to have clear information about calorie content, standard drinks and alcohol strength -- and only one in five said they found it easy to find," McPherson said.

"We're seeing a growing trend of people making more conscious decisions around their food and drink choices. We're making these easier and clear."

Time will tell if other companies will follow suit.

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