As part of Alcohol Awareness Month, a coalition of public interest groups today called on Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau Administrator John Manfreda to finalize a proposed rule on labeling of alcoholic beverages.

“Awareness starts with information,” the groups wrote in their letters. “Unfortunately, consumers are largely in the dark when it comes to information about alcoholic beverages.”

The groups – Center for Science in the Public Interest, Consumer Federation of America, National Consumers League, and Shape Up America! – are calling on the TTB to finalize and strengthen a rule that was proposed in 2007 to require a standardized “Alcohol Facts” panel on all beer, wine and distilled spirits products. Today, alcoholic beverages are the only major category of consumable products not required to carry label information summarizing the basic characteristics of the product.

TTB’s proposed rule would require a “serving facts” panel that would include largely irrelevant nutrition information such as protein and fat, but incredibly, not require disclosure of alcohol content. Public interest groups have called for TTB to mandate alcohol information on a standardized label, including the serving size, number of servings per container, percentage alcohol by volume and the amount of alcohol (in fl oz) per serving.  The groups also urged TTB to require that alcoholic-beverage labels contain a statement defining “moderate” – or low-risk – drinking, derived from the U.S. Government’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

The groups noted that “Adequate labeling information can serve as a tool to help reduce alcohol abuse, drunk driving, obesity, and many diseases attributable to excessive alcohol intake.”

Since the close of the public comment period in February 2008, TTB has not moved forward with issuing final regulations. The groups are urging Secretary Geithner and Administrator Manfreda to finalize the alcohol labeling rule immediately.