“Despite what the brewers might imply, beer still hasn’t made its way into the food pyramid,” Michael Thorn, FARE’s education chief, was quoted as saying in the Daily Telegraph.
The campaign has sparked a number of brands to introduce nutritional labels on beer (and now wines) showing that some varieties are low in sugar and carbs and a more natural product than many would understand, principally because it’s made only of hops, malt, yeast and water and is preservative free.
James Brindley, Managing Director of Lion’s beer business, today responded to criticisms of the company’s “Beer the Beautiful Truth” campaign.
LION Managing Director – James Brindley“Contrary to what FARE asserts, this is not a health campaign – Beer the Beautiful Truth simply provides the facts people want to know about beer and busts common myths. For example, most people think beer is loaded with sugar when, in fact, our beers are typically 99.9 percent sugar free. Our research shows that people want the facts about what they’re drinking and that’s what we’re providing, via a full nutritional information panel on the bottle, the outer packaging and via a dedicated website.
“It is highly ironic that FARE was established by Federal Parliament using extra tax collected from beer drinkers for a hike in the draft beer excise rate that never got parliamentary approval. I think beer lovers everywhere will be disappointed, once again, to see their money wasted on frivolous publicity stunts, instead of those funds being used to continue reducing harms caused by misuse,” Mr Brindley said.
