Drinks Trade Groups Wary Of Changes To Upcoming U.S. Dietary Guidelines
June 14, 2024A coalition of 15 trade groups from across the drinks industry is sounding the alarm over changes to the process of forming the U.S. dietary guidelines on alcohol consumption for 2025-2030. In a letter to the Secretaries of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Agriculture, the coalition objects to the fact that “for the first time in the history of the DGAs, it was announced that the alcohol research review would be conducted ‘through efforts separate from the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee [DGAC].’”
Specifically, the topic of adult alcohol use would be subject to two concurrent reviews: the standard review by a panel convened by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM); but also one by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), led by its the Interagency Coordinating Committee for the Prevention of Underage Drinking.
The specifics of that second review have been opaque until very recently. “It was not until after a Congressional inquiry in April 2024 when further information was disclosed about the SAMHSA work,” the letter says, noting that it apparently includes “a Scientific Review Panel, comprised of six external scientists, that would be conducting original scientific research (which is not typical protocol for the DGAs), in addition to reviewing existing science.” Two members of the panel were part of the research team that proposed Canada’s Low-Risk Drinking Guidelines, which define “low-risk” as two drinks or less a week.
The coalition notes that those recommendations in Canada “were criticized as not being supported by the consensus of scientific evidence” and that the Canadian Health Ministry has not adopted them, but its members remain wary about the new influence of SAMHSA on the U.S. dietary guidelines.
U.S. Representatives Brad Finstad and Jim Costa (R-Minn. and D-Calif., respectively), also sent a letter to HHS and Agriculture outlining concerns about SAMHSA’s role in the dietary guidelines process. “We disagree with your agencies’ interpretation that the National Nutrition Monitoring Act of 1990 allows you to extract the alcohol guidance from the purview of the DGAC and house the periodic reviews in perpetuity to a committee within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which is required under the STOP Act to exclusively focus on prevention of underage drinking,” they wrote. “Ultimately, SAMSHA must adhere to the National Nutrition and Monitoring Act of 1990, which specifies that only a preponderance of scientific evidence can inform any change to the DGAs.”
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