Consumer group says ‘NO!’ to proposal to lift standard sizes for spirits, says ‘unscrupulous actors will cheat consumers’
October 29, 2019
Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832
NCL files comment with the U.S. Treasury’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) objecting to a proposal to completely eliminate ‘standards of fill’ (or permissible bottle sizes) for distilled spirits, inviting consumer confusion.
Washington, DC—The National Consumers League (NCL) has filed a regulatory comment with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) objecting to its proposed regulation (Docket TTB-2019-0005) to eliminate the “standards of fill” or permissible bottle sizes for distilled spirits products.
For years, NCL has been urging TTB to take into account adult consumers’ interest in having access to clear, usable, and meaningful information about the alcoholic beverages they consume. Most recently, NCL wrote TTB to make the case that its effort to “modernize” alcoholic beverage labeling and advertising should include mandatory serving facts labeling so that consumers may understand how much alcohol (as well as nutrients) they consume in a serving and in a given container.
In its comment, NCL objects to the TTB proposal because of its great potential to harm consumers by damaging the common understanding of container sizes, which consumers have come to rely on since the end of Prohibition. The TTB proposal makes no sense in the absence of mandatory serving facts labeling and invites deceptive practices by unscrupulous manufacturers who will undoubtedly vary bottle sizes to deceive consumers and increase profits.
NCL’s full comment may be seen here.
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The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.
