Consumers’ Attitudes and Preferences Towards Ingredients List, Nutrition Information and Health Warning Labelling on Alcohol Products: A Scoping Review

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: One way to reduce the health hazards of excess alcohol consumption and the subsequent health concerns is to include information on the label. While alcoholic beverages are characterised as food, they are exempt from some of the labelling information and requirements that apply to other food items, including not requiring total ingredient lists or nutrition information. A scoping review following a systematic process was undertaken using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews. This scoping review focuses on consumer preferences and attitudes relating to ingredient lists, nutrition information, and health warnings on alcohol labels. 56 papers were included in the review. RECENT FINDINGS: We found that attitudes and preferences towards alcohol labels are mixed, and while consumers express interest in nutrition, ingredients and health warning information, their actual use of this information for decision-making remains limited. Those who are most likely to use information on labels, and think that the labels would influence their alcohol consumption are females, lighter drinkers and those who are more health conscious. Consumer attitudes and preferences towards alcohol labels are mixed. Consumer preferences influence and play an important role in determining acceptance of labels and what consumers want. This review has identified gaps in the literature around consumer preferences for nutrition and ingredients listings, while there is an abundance of evidence relating to health warnings on alcohol labels with mixed results.