Currently browsing posts about: Alcohol

I subscribe to Beverage Daily, an industry publication, to learn about current trends I might otherwise miss.

I hadn’t been paying much attention to the alchohol-free trend, other than to notice the astonishing rise in the number of flavored water options in supermarkets.

With the new dietary guidelines arguing for less alcohol, this is a trend worth watching.

Here is a good place to begin:

Five emerging trends in the alcohol-free category: January puts the spotlight on alcohol-free drinks. What has this month taught us about the direction of the category in 2026 ?… Read more

The discussion of the five trends is aimed at beverage companies trying to sell products.

• Sober-curious consumers are complicated, meaning they want to try lots of drinks.
• They “zebra-stripe” (a new term to me), meaning they alternate between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks in the same occasion.
• Beverage companies need to come up with innovate ways to attract customers.
• Non-alcoholic drinks should be functional (meaning containing something that can do something special) to attract customers.
• Companies need to find new ways to attract customers to their brands.

Judging from what I’m seeing at supermarkets, introducing a new beverage is not going to be easy.  There are already loads of options out there.

Here are a couple of additional items on the alcohol-free trend:

• The most popular alcohol-free brands in the US this month, according to search data: Tracking January’s search data reveals the rising stars in the US alcohol-free category…… Read more
• Drinking less but drinking better: Understanding the moderation movement: Consumers want to be healthier; so they’re cutting back on alcohol. But is it really that simple?… Read more
• Alcohol-free beverages become part of the wellness diet:  From Dry January to everyday routines, alcohol-free beverages are integrating into wellness diets with functional, mood-enhancing ingredients… Read more
• IFT’s Food Technology: That’s the (Zero-Proof) Spirit: The worldwide movement to reduce alcohol consumption is inspiring a creative and technological revolution in zero-proof spirits and mocktails with an expanding array of ingredients, from whiskey and gin alternatives to tropical fruits and botanicals.Read More
• How GLP-1 drugs are playing into the alcohol moderation trend: The last decade has seen a steady decline in alcohol consumption. GLP-1 drugs add a new dimension… Read more 
• Building the best alcohol-free brands: The next step in the category’s evolution:  Brand loyalty in the alcohol-free category is still low. That means its all to play for……
• 5 things we’ve learned about the alcohol-free category this January: January is the month when alcohol-free drinks really have the chance to shine. What have we learned about the direction of the category in 2026?… Read more
• Dry January is dead. Long live intentional drinking:  Elimination has evolved into moderation and it’s a preview of how changing consumer preferences affect year-round demand for alcohol and non-alcohol brands alike.

The Dietary Guidelines for America 2025-2030 simply say “Limit alcoholic beverages: Consume less alcohol for better
overall health.”  They go on to specify who should not drink alcohol.

People who should completely avoid alcohol include pregnant women, people who are recovering from alcohol use disorder or are unable to control the amount they drink, and people taking medications or with medical conditions that can interact with alcohol. For those with a family history of alcoholism, be mindful of alcohol consumption and associated addictive behaviors.

This guideline

• Does not specify what is meat by “limit” or “less.”
• Does not mention cancer as a risk of alcohol consumption.

These are big issues.  Excessive alcohol intake poses problems for society as well as for individuals: car accidents and gun violence, for example.

From a public health perspective, the lower the overall level of alcohol consumption in a population, the fewer the health and societal problems it causes.  The overall message always should be: drink as little alcohol as possible.

This message is complicated by evidence, highly contested, that low levels of alcohol might reduce risks for heart disease and overall mortality.  Even if correct, advice about alcohol would need to balance the purported benefits for heart disease against risks for cancer, particularly breast cancer.

The Biden-era 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee did not discuss alcohol because the agencies were waiting for the results of commissioned reports on alcohol and health.  As it happened, three reports came out just after the DGAC submitted its report late in 2025.

• The Surgeon General: Advisory on Alcohol and Cancer Risk (see my post on this): It emphasized the role of alcohol in raising the risk for seven kinds of cancer, particularly breast cancer and called for warning labels.  The World Health Organization also did so.
• The National Academies of Sciences: Review of Evidence on Alcohol and Health (my post is here): This one emphasized potential benefits of alcohol for reducing risks for heart disease and overall mortality, but minimized cancer risks (see Roni Rabin’s account in the New York Times, which notes conflicted interests among some members of the panel).
• The HHS: Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD)  According to Roni Rabin’s stories in the New York Times, the report “warned that even one drink a day raises the risk of liver cirrhosis, oral and esophageal cancer, and injuries.”  HHS withdrew the report, and Congress told the agencies to rely only on the National Academies of Sciences report as the basis for the dietary guidelines. And a House Committee has just trashed it for being Biden-biased.  So much for cancer risk.

Even so, the take-home lesson from all of these reports is that less alcohol is better.

At issue is how much less.

As I’ve explained previously, the dietary guidelines have long stated that 2 drinks a day for men and 1 for women (because women metabolize alcohol differently) is a safe amount.

The omission of these limits is difficult to interpret.  Do these guidelines consider those limits too low or too high?

At the press conference, Mehmet Oz said:

Alcohol is a social lubricant that brings people together. In the best-case scenario, I don’t think you should drink alcohol, but it does allow people an excuse to bond and socialize, and there’s probably nothing healthier than having a good time with friends in a safe way..You look at the Blue Zones, for example, around the world, where people live the longest. Alcohol is sometimes part of their diet…Again, small amounts. There is alcohol on these dietary guidelines, but the implication is don’t have it for breakfast.

The alcohol industry must be exceptionally powerful (that’s why it is regulated by the Treasury Department, which cares about revenues, rather than an agency of Health and Human Services.  Its lobbying is highly effective, especially when it comes to Dietary Guidelines.

That is also most likely why the Senate Agriculture appropriations bill contains this clause [my emphasis]:

SEC . 759. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) were tasked with providing findings and recommendations on alcohol consumption for the purposes of inclusion in the 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans as required by section 772 of division A of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Public Law 117–328): Provided, That the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Agriculture shall only consider the findings and recommendations of the NASEM report in the development of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and further, both Secretaries shall ensure that the alcohol consumption recommendations in the 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans shall be based on the preponderance of scientific and medical knowledge consistent with section 5341 of title 7 of United States Code.

To understand what this is about, consider the NASEM and two other reports on alcohol that came out recently.

As I discussed here previously,

I.  The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Review of Evidence on Alcohol and Health says moderate drinking

• Reduces all-cause mortality (moderate certainty)
• Reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease (moderate certainty)
• Increases the risk of breast and colorectal cancer (but can’t decide about others)

My summary: OK, moderate drinking increases breast and colorectal cancer, but reduces risks for heart disease and overall mortality—a net benefit (unless you happen to get one of those cancers).

II.  The Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, says in his Advisory on Alcohol and Cancer Risk

• Consuming alcohol increases the risk of developing at least 7 types of cancer.
• The causal relationship between alcohol consumption and cancer is firmly established.

My summary: Oops.  Alcohol absolutely increases the risk of at least 7 cancer types.

III.  The report from the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD).  

• Males and females who consumed 1 drink per day had an increased risk of liver cirrhosis, esophageal cancer, oral cancer, and injuries, but a lower risk for ischemic stroke…females had a higher risk for liver cancer and a lower risk for diabetes mellitus when they drank 1 drink per day…even infrequent high per-occasion drinking may eliminate the lower levels of risk for ischemic stroke.
• Alcohol use is associated with increased mortality for seven types of cancer (colorectal, female breast, liver, oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, esophagus [squamous cell type]). Increased risk for these cancers begins with any alcohol use and increases with higher levels of use. Women experience a much greater risk of an alcohol-attributable cancer per drink consumed.

My summary: Oops again.  Everyone, especially women, who drink any alcohol at all is at higher risk of 7 cancer types.

As reported in Vox and Stat, HHS is withdrawing this report and sending it to report heaven, as if it never existed.

Reuters says the forthcoming Dietary Guidelines will not mention alcohol.

For the background on all of this, see my previous reports:

• The alcohol saga continues
• Alcohol in the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines: the rumors  (this one has a table of previous alcohol recommendations)

I could hardly believe it when I saw this item: Taiwan state distillery taps food market with alcohol-based instant noodles.   Taiwan’s state distillery has diversified into the food industry with alcohol-based instant noodles, blending beverage expertise with ready-to-eat innovation… Read more

The Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation (TTL)’s

most well-known products are Taiwan Beer which is considered an icon in Taiwanese culture and also the most popular beer locally; as well as traditional Chinese Hua Tiao wine.

The latter has been used in TTL’s instant noodle innovation to create its viral TTL Hua Tiao Chicken Noodles, which incorporate not only significant Hua Tiao wine content but also Chinese herbs and meat chunks.

“These are not your average instant noodles – Hua Tiao wine elevates the noodles to another level, as it is traditionally known for its antioxidant content as well as benefits for digestion and blood circulation….”We already have the alcohol in production, and we are indeed well-known for our liquors, so it made a lot of sense to us.”

I’ll bet.

I suppose young people will have to be carded to be allowed to eat it.  Whatever.  You can’t make this stuff up!

Forthcoming November 11, 2025

For Information and Pre-Orders, click here

I have no inside information about what the new Dietary Guidelines will say beyond what I’ve read and what RFK Jr has said: They will be coming out soon and will be short and to the point.

But according to Twitter (X), the source of much leaked information, the new administration “plans to introduce partial bans on alcohol advertising, to bring it ‘closer in line with advertising of unhealthy food.'”

And we now have a Reuters’ Exclusive: US to drop guidance to limit alcohol to one or two drinks per day, sources say

Its summary:

• Americans have long been told to drink two or fewer drinks per day
• New guidelines due as soon as this month
• Expected to include brief statement on limiting drinking
• Alcohol industry faces growing scrutiny of health risks

Reuters’ anonymous sources say “The new guidelines are set to move away from suggesting consumers limit alcohol consumption to a specific number of daily servings, according to the three sources, who asked not to be named to speak freely.”

Reuters also reports:

Major industry players, including Diageo (DGE.L) and Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI.BR) have lobbied lawmakers throughout the review process. Senate records show the companies spent millions on lobbying efforts related to the guidelines and a range of other issues such as tax and trade in 2024 and 2025. Both companies declined to comment.

What is at stake here?

As I explained in January (Alcohol in the Dietary Guidelines: What the Fuss is About), everyone agrees that too much alcohol is bad for you.  The question is whether any alcohol is bad.

The dietary guidelines have advised since 1990 that women have no more than one drink a day and men no more than two, suggesting that such levels are safe.  But are they?

I discuss the recent reports arguing one way or the other on January 7 (The big fight over alcohol recommendations: not over yet) and January 22 (The Alcohol Saga continues).

Neither RFK Jr nor President Trump drink alochol.

And we have evidence that the Majority of Americans Unaware of Cancer Risks Linked to Alcohol Consumption.

Recent research conducted by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center unveiled that only approximately 40% of American adults recognize alcohol as a cancer risk factor. This stark gap in knowledge persists despite alcohol’s status as a leading preventable cause of cancer, highlighting the urgent need for enhanced public health communication and policy reforms.

Dietary guidelines are a key component of federal nutrition policy.

I can’t wait to see what they say about alcohol consumption (and everything else), in the light of the MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) agenda.

I’ve been collecting items on new and emerging food products.  Enjoy!

• Cow-less casein protein ‘first’ creates full cheese spectrum: A full spectrum of ‘cheeses’ can be made without cows, following the development of a casein that can self-assemble into micelles, the foundation for stretchy, protein-rich cheese alternatives…. Read more
• Are watermelon seeds the next breakthrough in plant-based milk?  Watermelon seed-based non-dairy beverage Milkish won “fan favorite” in the Fancy Face-Off pitch at the Winter Fancy Food Show – but can it win over retailers and shoppers?… Watch now
• Cell-cultured mouse “mousse” petfood headed for commercial release.  BioCraft Pet Nutrition has partnered with Prefera Petfood to commercialise a hypoallergenic, nutritionally complete cat food made almost entirely from cell-cultured mouse…. Read more 
• Cultivated dinosaur meat hits the market in food tech first: Hitting a major food tech milestone, scientists have developed and launched a range of products made from cultivated dinosaur meat… Read more
• Seaweed has an ocean of potential, but headwinds remain: Investment and climate are barriers for the seaweed to innovate and achieve all it can achieve… Read more
• Green Queen Better Meat secures U.S. patent for turning potato waste into mycoprotein The Better Meat Co has secured its sixth U.S. patent for a process that uses potato-processing waste to grow high-protein, high-fiber mycelium, offering a sustainable, nutrient-rich alternative to conventional meat. Read More

And then,

• How Coca-Cola is using Minute Maid to push into alcohol: The soda giant’s Red Tree Beverages subsidiary is making a bet that its vodka lemonade can help it gain a stronger foothold in booze.

It’s a brave new food world out there.  I wonder how cell-cultured dinosaur meat tastes…

So much is happening on the alcohol frontier these days that it is getting hard to keep up.  Let’s start with the multiplicity of reports on alcohol and health arriving one after another.  I’ve written about the NASEM and Surgeon General’s reports recently.  I’ve also written recently about their implications for the forthcoming Dietary Guidelines.

I.  The ICCPUD report.  Now we have yet a third report from the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD).  This one says:

• Males and females who consumed 1 drink per day had an increased risk of liver cirrhosis, esophageal cancer, oral cancer, and injuries, but a lower risk for ischemic stroke…females had a higher risk for liver cancer and a lower risk for diabetes mellitus when they drank 1 drink per day…even infrequent high per-occasion drinking may eliminate the lower levels of risk for ischemic stroke.
• Alcohol use is associated with increased mortality for seven types of cancer (colorectal, female breast, liver, oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, esophagus [squamous cell type]). Increased risk for these cancers begins with any alcohol use and increases with higher levels of use. Women experience a much greater risk of an alcohol-attributable cancer per drink consumed.

II.  The Alcohol industry’s reaction to the ICCPUD report. The reaction to this from a group of National Agriculture, Beverage and Hospitality Associations is pretty tough.  In an email and press release titled “New U.S. Alcohol Report Tainted by Bias, Conflicts,” its representative said:

The controversial report, which is based on observational studies rather than any randomized controlled trials, is blatantly biased, with many panel members failing to disclose conflicts of interest, including affiliations with and funding from anti-alcohol and international temperance organizations…it’s essential to consider the findings of the recent Congressionally-mandated report from the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Health (NASEM), which found moderate drinking may be healthier than teetotaling (Axios).

Its recommendation

We urge the Secretaries of Agriculture and Health & Human Services to uphold the integrity of the DGAs to promote informed and responsible decision-making around alcohol. The agencies should disregard the ICCPUD report in their final assessments for the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines.

III.  Call for public comment on the NASEM and ICCPUD reports

From the HHS Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (I am an alum)

HHS and USDA will invite the public to provide input on two separate but complementary reports [ICCPUDand NASEM] on the relationship between alcohol and health starting January 15. These reports and the public comments received will be considered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as the two departments collaborate to develop the next edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The comment period will close on February 14, 2025. Additional details on this public comment opportunity are available on DietaryGudelines.gov.

IV.  Treasury Department proposes new and more informative labeling of alcohol drinks, also with a call for public comment  

TTB Proposes Mandatory Disclosures of Major Food Allergens and Alcohol Facts in the Labeling of Wines, Distilled Spirits, and Malt Beverages.

Allergens: In Notice No. 238, we propose to require a label disclosure of all major food allergens used in the production of alcohol beverages…labels must declare milk, eggs, fish, Crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, soybeans, and sesame, as well as ingredients that contain protein derived from these foods, if used in the production of the alcohol beverage.

Alcohol Facts: In Notice No. 237, we propose to require Alcohol Facts label disclosures for alcohol beverages subject to TTB’s regulatory authority under the Federal Alcohol Administration Act. This disclosure would include the serving size of the product; the number of servings per container; alcohol content as a percentage of alcohol by volume; the number of fluid ounces of pure ethyl alcohol per serving; the number of calories per serving; and the number, in grams per serving, of carbohydrates, fat, and protein.

Wow!  This has been a long time coming.

To comment:

• For Allergens see Notice No. 238 and/orDocket No. TTB–2025–0003 at Regulations.gov and this comment form. 
• For Alcohol Facts see Notice No. 237 and/or Docket No. TTB–2025–0002 at regulations.gov and this comment form.

Electronic comments submitted via Regulations.gov are due by 11:59 p.m. ET on April 17, 2025, and comments submitted by postal mail must be postmarked by that date.

The 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee did not make a recommendation about alcohol.  The agencies, HHS and USDA, will do that later based on two expert reviews.

I wrote about the first, from the National Academies, last week: Review of Evidence on Alcohol and Health.

I also wrote about the Surgeon General’s Advisory on Alcohol and Cancer Risk

Still to come is the report from the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD).

At issue is the amount of alcohol that is safe to drink, if any.

Just for fun, I did a summary of what the Dietary Guidelines say about alcohol from 1980 to 2020.  Note that the Moderation advice has not changed since 1990 (but then see the note on 2020).

                                      Alcohol recommendations: Dietary Guidelines for Americans

*From the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee report: “evidence points to a general rule that drinking less is better for health than drinking more. Therefore, the focus should remain on reducing consumption among those who drink, particularly among those who drink in ways that increase the risk of harms. The Committee concluded that no evidence exists to relax current Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendations, and there is evidence to tighten them for men such that recommended limits for both men and women who drink would be 1 drink per day on days when alcohol is consumed.

Despite the language in the 2020 guideline, the agencies did not change the overall recommendation about moderate drinking.

Will the Surgeon General’s Advisory and the upcoming third report cause the agencies to suggest no more than one drink a day for men?  Or suggest that no level of alcohol intake is safe?

I’m looking forward to finding out.

Resource: the process for alcohol in the Dietary Guidelines