To assess the prevalence and formatting of voluntary alcohol, nutrition and ingredient information on the labels of alcoholic beverages sold in the USA in 2021.

We assessed labels from the top 150 beer, spirits and wine brands from 2021. Primary outcomes were presence of: (1) Statement of Average Analysis (SAA; includes calories, carbohydrates, fat and protein); (2) Serving Facts (SAA plus serving size, servings per container and alcohol content); and (3) ingredients lists. We also assessed the prevalence of nutrition- and ingredient-related claims. Attributes were considered present for a brand if they appeared on the label of at least one product from that brand. We used Fisher’s exact tests to assess associations between primary outcomes and beverage characteristics.

Labels were from a government-run label approval database.

Unit of analysis was brands.

The analysis included 925 labels from 65 beer, 93 spirits and 101 wine brands. Forty-one beer brands (63 %), twenty-four spirits brands (26 %) and two wine brands (2 %) had SAA. Eighteen beer brands (28 %), eleven spirits brands (12 %) and no wine brands had Serving Facts statements. Eleven beer brands (17 %), but no spirits or wine brands, had ingredients lists. The presence of SAA was positively associated with having calorie or carbohydrate claims (beer and spirits), larger market share (beer only) and being a member of the beer industry’s Brewers’ Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (beer only) (p < 0·05).

Low uptake of voluntary nutrition and ingredient information by top beer, spirits and wine brands suggests the need for mandatory standardised labels.

Federal law requires calorie information on chain restaurant menus. We sought to assess the prevalence of calorie disclosures on online menus and determine if the menus are controlled by restaurants subject to US labelling requirements.

Cross-sectional

Restaurant websites and mobile apps for restaurant located in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston

US chain restaurants (top seventy-five by number of outlets) and third-party platforms (TPP): Grubhub, Uber Eats, DoorDash

There was at least one calorie disclosure (for at least one food or beverage, in at least one location) on sixty-eight of seventy-two (94 %) menus on restaurant websites or apps, thirty-two of fifty-five (58 %) menus on DoorDash, six of forty-nine (12 %) menus on Grubhub and thirty of fifty-nine (51 %) menus on Uber Eats. There was consistent calorie labelling (all foods and beverages, all locations) on forty-three of seventy-two (60 %) menus on restaurant websites or apps, fifteen of fifty-five (27 %) menus on DoorDash, three of forty-nine (6 %) menus on Grubhub and eleven of fifty-nine (19 %) menus on Uber Eats. Only four restaurant chains consistently labelled calories for all items, in all locations, on all platforms where their menus were found. All three TPP provided restaurants the ability to enter and modify menu items, making the menus subject to US labelling requirements. Only Uber Eats provided guidance to restaurants on entering calorie information.

As consumers increasingly rely on TPP for restaurant ordering, menus on these platforms should include calories in order to promote transparency and nutrition.