Current status: Answered by Maree Todd on 10 February 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on (a) Food Standards Scotland’s guidance permitting the use of alcohol-free labelling on products containing up to 0.5% alcohol by volume (ABV), and whether this adequately protects consumers who are allergic to alcohol, and (b) Alcohol Focus Scotland’s calls for all alcohol substitutes and lower strength alcohol products to feature their ABV content plainly on the front-facing part of the label.
The Scottish Government does not have a position in relation to this issue as Food Standards Scotland (FSS) has policy responsibility for general food labelling in Scotland and as such Scottish Ministers are advised by FSS on such matters.
FSS does not have published formal guidance on low and no alcohol claims.
Currently, the general requirements in Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers (FIC) apply and stipulate that all food information must be clear, accurate and not mislead the consumer. Therefore, the product’s label should also include the abv or state that it contains no alcohol. The name of the food, net weight and alcoholic strength must also appear in the same field of vision although businesses have some flexibility in how this is done.
By way of background, The Food Labelling Regulations 1996, revoked in 2018, previously set out the detail of certain descriptors and the alcohol by volume level associated with each. For the claim alcohol free, this was no more than 0.05% alcohol by volume.
As the body with policy responsibility for these regulations, FSS has confirmed that there is currently no plan to review the current food labelling requirements in respect of alcohol content or expand the list of substances classed as allergens.