Hi there, just was shown this site by my shift buddy. Searched for a few different items, and found an interesting post in the Food section that I think pertains to Health, so I will post it here (Require Allergen Labelling on Alcoholic Beverages).
Why is the ATF in the business of still regulating Alcohol? Now, let’s disregard arguments for or against the regulation of A T or F, but why is the same agency that regulates my firearms the same agency that regulates a consumable product that people put into their bodies (alcohol). I know there is the history about taxation and things like that, but in 2024 this doesn’t make any sense. I read about a Disney influencer dying of an allergic reaction recently and it jogged my noggin to remember about an old friend who was paranoid as shit about when we’d all be out drinking at the bar. Never gave him crap about it (or, the one time I did I apologized), but now I understand why.
For some reason, it never clicked in my mind that the ATF regulates alcohol COMPLETELY. I thought the ATF just handled the taxes, and the FDA handled nutrition facts and allergen labelling on alcohol… I never really checked until just now in my cooler… sure as s*hit, no label!!
Now, I’m not against what people want to make and sell, but people have the RIGHT to know what they’re buying! THERE ARE SPECIFICATIONS LISTED ON MY AMMUNITION, so an overpressurized round doesn’t blow a barrel in my face. And if I buy a pack of smokes (I quit 2 years ago, though), it says how much nicotine is in it… So why don’t we have the right to know what’s in our booze?
Either the ATF should focus just on Firearms, or Alcohol (and probably Tobacco) should be regulated by the FDA instead.
Alcohol has no nutritional value. It is devoid of protein, minerals and vitamins and actually can inhibit the absorption of vital nutrients. Therefore it is not food.
Alcohol has no nutritional value. It is devoid of protein, minerals and vitamins and actually can inhibit the absorption of vital nutrients. Therefore it is not food.
This is patently untrue! Though there is only caloric value in pure grain alcohol, alcoholic beverages do contain a variety of other substances, such as tannins, anthocyanins, and other things (some “Good”, some “Not so good”). But it is disingenuous to disregard alcoholic beverages because you apparently don’t fancy them! You don’t have to drink if you don’t like it! But for people who do drink, they should know WHAT is in the drink (during the manufacturing process, that is, I’m not talking about some full spectroscopy analysis!)!
If a beer is made with fish bladder, it should say so. If a wine is made with almond, it should also say so!
I think youll find most people on here want to completely dissolve the atf for other legitimate reasons; but this is an interesting point. There are bugs and other animal products in many traditional liquor recipes.
Yours truly agrees with many of those reasons, ha!
There are bugs and other animal products in many traditional liquor recipes.
Oh, wow, I did not know this! Something like how carmine (bugs) is used to dye some sausages? Should be on the label of an ingestible product imho! I just know about fish bladder/Isinglass as a clarifying agent in some beers like Guinness (a gal I know can’t drink it because of this, sent her to the hospital the first time she had one and she didn’t know!), almond or even egg whites for the same purpose in some wines (thanks to a buddy telling me), all this wild stuff!
Hey, if it makes the product taste good or look good (or they do it for cost savings like with corn (yuck!) HFCS additives in cheap beer…) well… then go ahead if there’s a market for it, but people have the RIGHT to know what they’re putting in their bodies! And if it’s something where a company thinks they have the right to hide that from We the People, to that I think NO WAY!
Apparently some beers voluntarily put ingredients on the bottles, but I think that’s gotta be the minority of them, because I can’t remember ever seeing it. Reading online just now, apparently in Europe they DO label their alcoholic drinks… because… they’re drinks! Of course they should have ingredient labels!
Seems to me like this is one of those weird things where just like how we have drug advertisements on TV unlike basically the rest of the world, we don’t give people the right to know what’s in their drinks, unlike basically the rest of the world.
Just like how I think it’s strange how the ATF regulates three things that are not even closely related to each other from a product standpoint! The first two go into your body, the third… well… haha you don’t want to be on the receiving end of lead, steel, copper, or bismuth going in! Ha!!!
The red color in compari is traditionally from dried cochineal beetles, egg white is a common ingredient in many mixed drinks, i didnt know about guinesse though. This is definitely an issue that should be addressed.
Wow! I’m always learning something new (just looked them up, weird looking little buggers (literally HA!))! Though that’s interesting and cool, and good for them, people should know what they’re about to drink! Honestly, I prefer natural ingredients like that instead of artificial dyes, but for people who have allergies to insects or something, they should know before they drink it! Yea the Guinness one was a real thinker, I wouldn’t have known except for the gal who told me! Can’t imagine how terrifying that must have been for her… fish, in beer!!
This is definitely an issue that should be addressed.
I think so, too! Not all regulation is bad, it’s to protect consumers. And every food company, no matter how small of a business, has to already comply with Nutrition Facts and allergen labelling… heck, even big pharma has to publish ingredient lists (even though they lie sometimes!) of what is in their medications!
Not going to disagree with ya there, Cheryl! Maybe this could be a more palatable first step to drastically cutting their funding and “mandate”! Take away the A… then the T… then all that remains is the F… and poof!
I don’t drink or smoke, but good point there partner! I was laughing while reading your post. Makes perfect sense to me. They should pick a lane and stay in it! or get the hell out all together.
I hope those with votes left will vote on this. It has got to be one of the most important issues since many ingest alcohol and yet there is no transparency now any way to protect health.
It’s odd to me that drinks that do not contain alcohol fall under one category, but as soon as you include alcohol (fermented sugars) it moves into another category entirely. It would make way more sense to me to at least be regulated under both.
Not a vegan myself, but a few members of my family are, and the inclusion of animal-based ingredients in alcoholic beverages is sort of a black box for that community. You essentially have to trust what the manufacturer says, if you’re even able to get in touch with them to ask them about it. (This also applies to regulated foods to a degree, since they’re allowed to list “natural flavors” or “colors” or whatever, rather than listing the actual ingredients.)
Ha! Glad you enjoyed it! I’m a direct guy (gets me in trouble, but also gets me out of it and gets me the best friends and loved ones who can stand me!), just type out exactly how I feel!
They should pick a lane and stay in it! or get the hell out all together.
Couldn’t agree more! The government wants ( ;P) to know and tax when I buy used engine parts from a friend in a private sale, but they don’t think we have the right to know what’s going into our bodies as soon as there’s a bit of ambrosia involved!
You essentially have to trust what the manufacturer says, if you’re even able to get in touch with them to ask them about it.
Apparently even if you call the company (who’s even going to do that at a bar in the middle of the night??), they aren’t even required to provide you with the information!
(This also applies to regulated foods to a degree, since they’re allowed to list “natural flavors” or “colors” or whatever, rather than listing the actual ingredients.)
Great point! If the ingredients are not in the major allergen listing on a label (maybe the label would be too long?), they should still be required to be released by the company in a easily accessible manner.
Perhaps some centralized database on the FDA website or even with an app where you could instantly look it up when out and about… a QR on each bottle as part of the nutrition facts?
This would actually be a great idea! I will make a post about this on the Food section and link it.