The Treasury Department's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is seeking comments by October 29 on a proposed rule that would require alcohol beverage products to be labeled with certain calorie, nutrient and other information. The TTB proposes to make these new requirements mandatory three years after the date of publication of a final rule in the Federal Register.

According to TTB sources, the proposed rule would apply to every alcohol beverage sold within the U.S., affecting both domestic and imported products.

A partial list of the proposed amendments are:

1. require a statement of alochol content, expressed as a percentage of alcohol by volume, on all alcohol beverage products
2. allow this statement to appear on any label affixed to the container
3. require a "Serving Facts" panel on alcohol veverage labels that would include a statement of calories, carbohydrates, fat and protein
4. allow industry members to disclose on the "Serving Facts" panel the number of U.S. fluid ounces of pure alcohol (ethyl alcohol) per serving as part of a statement that includes alcohol content expressed as a percentage of alcohol by volume
5. specify new reference serving sizes for wine, distilled spirits and malt beverages based on the amount of beverage customarily consumed as a single serving