Revision of the Australian guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol.

INTRODUCTION: The Australian guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol were released in 2020 by the National Health and Medical Research Council. Based on the latest evidence, the guidelines provide advice on how to keep the risk of harm from alcohol low. They refer to an Australian standard drink (10 g ethanol). RECOMMENDATIONS: •Guideline 1: To reduce the risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury, healthy men and women should drink no more than ten standard drinks a week and no more than four standard drinks on any one day. The less you drink, the lower your risk of harm from alcohol. •Guideline 2: To reduce the risk of injury and other harms to health, children and people under 18 years of age should not drink alcohol. •Guideline 3: To prevent harm from alcohol to their unborn child, women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy should not drink alcohol. For women who are breastfeeding, not drinking alcohol is safest for their baby. CHANGES AS RESULT OF THE GUIDELINE: The recommended limit for healthy adults changed from two standard drinks per day (effectively 14 per week) to ten per week. The new guideline states that the less you drink, the lower your risk of harm from alcohol. The recommended maximum on any one day remains four drinks (clarified from previously "per drinking occasion"). Guidance is clearer for pregnancy and breastfeeding, and for people aged less than 18 years, recommending not drinking.

Methanol Mitigation during Manufacturing of Fruit Spirits with Special Consideration of Novel Coffee Cherry Spirits.

Methanol is a natural ingredient with major occurrence in fruit spirits, such as apple, pear, plum or cherry spirits, but also in spirits made from coffee pulp. The compound is formed during fermentation and the following mash storage by enzymatic hydrolysis of naturally present pectins. Methanol is toxic above certain threshold levels and legal limits have been set in most jurisdictions. Therefore, the methanol content needs to be mitigated and its level must be controlled. This article will review the several factors that influence the methanol content including the pH value of the mash, the addition of various yeast and enzyme preparations, fermentation temperature, mash storage, and most importantly the raw material quality and hygiene. From all these mitigation possibilities, lowering the pH value and the use of cultured yeasts when mashing fruit substances is already common as best practice today. Also a controlled yeast fermentation at acidic pH facilitates not only reduced methanol formation, but ultimately also leads to quality benefits of the distillate. Special care has to be observed in the case of spirits made from coffee by-products which are prone to spoilage with very high methanol contents reported in past studies.

Effects of Restricting High Alcohol Content Beverages on Crime in California.

Background: Policy restrictions on malt liquor sales have been adopted in several cities throughout the United States in an effort to reduce crime around off-premise alcohol outlets. Although California has implemented the most restrictions on malt liquor sales, no studies in the published literature have evaluated the effects of these policies on reducing crime. Objectives: We evaluated the effectiveness of malt liquor restrictions on reducing crime around off-premise alcohol outlets in six California cities. We hypothesized that adoption of malt liquor policies would be significantly associated with decreases in crime within areas surrounding targeted outlets. Methods: We used an interrupted time-series design with control areas to examine the relationship between malt liquor policies and crime reduction. We compared crime rates three years prior and following adoption of malt liquor policies. Results: Malt liquor policies were associated with modest decreases in crime, largely Part II or less serious crimes such as simple assaults. The effectiveness of malt liquor policies varied by city, with reductions in crime greatest in Sacramento where policies were more restrictive than in other cities. Malt liquor policies were also associated with small increases in nuisance crime, especially in San Francisco. Conclusion: Results suggest that malt liquor policies may have modest effects on reducing crime when they include strong restrictions on the sale of malt liquor products. Results may be informative to other cities considering whether to maintain or change their malt liquor policies as well as cities considering placing restrictions on other high content beverages.

An overview of chemical contaminants and other undesirable chemicals in alcoholic beverages and strategies for analysis.

The presence of chemical contaminant in alcoholic beverages is a widespread and notable problem with potential implications for human health. With the complexity and wide variation in the raw materials, production processes, and contact materials involved, there are a multitude of opportunities for a diverse host of undesirable compounds to make their way into the final product-some of which may currently remain unidentified and undetected. This review provides an overview of the notable contaminants (including pesticides, environmental contaminants, mycotoxins, process-induced contaminants, residues of food contact material [FCM], and illegal additives) that have been detected in alcoholic products thus far based on prior reviews and findings in the literature, and will additionally consider the potential sources for contamination, and finally discuss and identify gaps in current analytical strategies. The findings of this review highlight a need for further investigation into unwanted substances in alcoholic beverages, particularly concerning chemical migrants from FCMs, as well as a need for comprehensive nontargeted analytical techniques capable of determining unanticipated contaminants.

Public Health versus Alcohol Industry Compliance Laws: A Case of Industry Capture?

This article confirms that industry compliance and enforcement processes are an essential consideration in the growing pantheon of legal and commercial determinants of public health. While alcohol control laws vary between individual jurisdictions, their development and application are confronted by a common threat of undue industry influence or capture. This necessitates a greater understanding of this phenomenon to better inform a collective and effective international public health response. New South Wales Australia, has developed a layer of alcohol industry compliance laws in the form of disciplinary schemes. This article critically explicates the first of these, the Violent Venues Scheme (VVS), to determine the nature and extent of any capture. This would significantly compromise harm minimisation statutory objects and disrupt the democratic process and the rule of law. In contrast, an influential industry identity, attributed the earlier last drinks laws, VVS and a related scheme as causing the alleged destruction of Sydney's nighttime economy and fun. The research also analyses the indispensible role of a neoliberal paradigm in legitimising exclusive relationships between governments and industry. This is indelibly imprinted on the alcohol regulatory landscape.

An organoleptic survey of meads made with lactic acid-producing yeasts.

We previously reported the isolation a suite of wild lactic acid-producing yeasts (LAYs) that enable "primary souring" during beer fermentation without the use of lactic acid bacteria. With sour meads gaining popularity in modern mead making, we were interested in exploring the same primary souring approach to traditional semi-sweet meads. In this study, we utilized 13 LAY strains to produce semi-sweet meads using a standardized batch of honey must to ensure consistent starting conditions. Thirteen 11-L batches of mead were prepared, and each was inoculated with one of the LAY strains, along with two control batches inoculated with champagne yeast. The initial pH and specific gravity were measured for each batch before inoculation. Traditional organic staggered nutrient addition was utilized for the first 72 h of fermentation with specific gravities being taken throughout the mead making process. Meads were racked, tasted, stabilized, cold crashed, bottled, and transported to the American Mead Maker's Association 2018 Conference in Broomfield, Colorado. There, organoleptic surveys were conducted on these meads utilizing an array of tasters with varying levels of mead sensory analysis experience. The results of the sensory analysis, focusing on aroma and flavor, are discussed.

Exploring the impact of public health teams on alcohol premises licensing in England and Scotland (ExILEnS): procotol for a mixed methods natural experiment evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Recent regulatory changes in the system by which premises are licensed to sell alcohol, have given health representatives a formal role in the process in England and Scotland. The degree to which local public health teams engage with this process varies by locality in both nations, which have different licensing regimes. This study aims to critically assess the impact on alcohol-related harms - and mechanisms - of public health stakeholders' engagement in alcohol premises licensing from 2012 to 2018, comparing local areas with differing types and intensities of engagement, and examining practice in Scotland and England. METHODS: The study will recruit 20 local authority areas where public health stakeholders have actively engaged with the alcohol premises licensing system (the 'intervention') and match them to a group of 20 lower activity areas using genetic matching. Four work packages are included: (1) Structured interviews and documentary analysis will examine the type and level of intervention activity from 2012 to 2018, creating a novel composite measure of the intensity of such activity and will assess the local licensing system and potential confounding activities over the same period. In-depth interviews with public health, licensing, police and others will explore perceived mechanisms of change, acceptability, and impact. (2) Using longitudinal growth models and time series analyses, the study will evaluate the impact of high and low levels of activity on alcohol-related harms using routine data from baseline 2009 to 2018. (3) Intervention costs, estimated National Health Service cost savings and health gains will be evaluated using the Sheffield Alcohol Policy Model to estimate impact on alcohol consumption and health inequalities. (4) The study will engage public health teams to create a new theory of change for public health involvement in the licensing process using our data. We will share findings with local, national and international stakeholders. DISCUSSION: This interdisciplinary study examines, for the first time, whether and how public health stakeholders' involvement in alcohol licensing impacts on alcohol harms. Using mixed methods and drawing on complex systems thinking, it will make an important contribution to an expanding literature evaluating interventions not suited to traditional epidemiological research.

Can a Label Help me Drink in Moderation? A Review of the Evidence on Standard Drink Labelling.

INTRODUCTION: Understanding the concept of a standard drink (SD) is foundational knowledge to many public health policies aimed at reducing alcohol-related harms. These policies include adhering to low-risk drinking guidelines, screening brief intervention and referral activities, and counter alcohol-impaired driving initiatives. A lack of awareness of SDs might preclude the effectiveness of these interventions. A systematic review was conducted to review the evidence about how effective alcohol labels are in communicating SD information to the consumer. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted to identify peer-reviewed articles and grey literature from relevant indexes from January 1990 to January 2016. Additionally, policy makers and researchers in countries where standard drink labels (SDLs) have been implemented were consulted to help identify relevant literature. The search strategy was focused on the impact of SDLs relative to a range of outcomes, including awareness of SDs, pouring behaviors, and consumption patterns. RESULTS: Eleven records were eligible for inclusion. The evidence suggests that knowledge of the definition of an SD is low. However, SDLs can help individuals more accurately identify and pour an SD. SDLs need to be supported by educational initiatives to help the consumer understand the SD information provided on the beverage container. To date, there has been no comprehensive evaluation of the impact of SDLs. CONCLUSIONS: SDLs have the potential to increase awareness of SDs and facilitate the monitoring of personal alcohol consumption in the context of a comprehensive alcohol strategy. However, their impact on drinking behaviors requires further exploration, especially among high-risk populations.

US State Statutes Banning Powdered Alcohol: Exceptions and Penalties.

To examine state statutes banning powdered alcohol, we identified relevant statutes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia through a search (initial search March 2016; follow-up search November 2016) using the legal research database LexisNexis. To identify the laws, we used the following search terms: "concentrated alcohol," "crystalline alcohol," "granulated alcohol," "palcohol," and "powdered alcohol." As of November 2016, 31 states had statutory bans on powdered alcohol. Statutes in 22 states outline penalties for violating the state's ban on powdered alcohol. Five states include suspension and revocation of alcohol beverage licenses and permits among the penalties. Thirteen states provide exceptions to their ban on powdered alcohol for bona fide scientific research. Twelve states have exceptions for powdered alcohol designed for commercial use or not intended for human consumption. With concerns expressed that powdered alcohol may lead to greater alcohol consumption, particularly among minors, the majority of state legislatures have demonstrated their willingness to restrict access to novel alcohol products to protect the public's health. However, the effectiveness of these laws should be evaluated if the product does become available.

Explaining Counterfeit Alcohol Purchases in Russia.

BACKGROUND: Alcohol is a common target of counterfeiting in Russia. Counterfeit alcohol is defined here as the manufacture, distribution, unauthorized placement (forgery) of protected commodity trademarks, and infringement of the exclusive rights of the registered trademark holders of alcoholic beverages. It is often argued that the expansion of the counterfeit product market is due to the steady demand of economically disadvantaged people for low-priced goods. The situation becomes more complicated once deceptive and nondeceptive forms of counterfeiting are taken into account. This study aimed to identify markers of risky behavior associated with the purchase of counterfeit alcohol in Russia. METHODS: The analysis relied on consumer self-reports of alcohol use and purchase collected nationwide by the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS-HSE) in 2012 to 2014. I used a generalized linear mixed-model logistic regression to identify predictors of risky behavior by consumers who purchased counterfeit alcohol, either knowingly or unknowingly, during the 30 days preceding the survey. RESULTS: Purchases of counterfeit alcohol declined slightly from 2012 to 2014, mainly due to a decrease in consumers mistakenly purchasing counterfeit products. Predictors of counterfeit alcohol purchases differed between consumers who knowingly and unknowingly purchased counterfeit products. Nondeceptive purchase of counterfeit alcohol was related primarily to an indifference to alcohol brands. Consumers with social networks that include drinkers of nonbeverage alcohol and producers of homemade alcohol were highly likely to consume counterfeit alcohol deliberately. Problem drinking was significantly associated with a higher risk of both deceptive and nondeceptive purchases of counterfeit alcohol. Poverty largely contributed to nondeceptive counterfeiting. CONCLUSIONS: The literature has overestimated the impact of low prices on counterfeit alcohol consumption. Problem drinking and membership in social networks of consumers of surrogate alcohol (i.e., nonbeverage) are more influential in explaining why people purchase counterfeit alcohol. Further research on these 2 factors is needed to more fully understand the purchase and consumption of counterfeit alcoholic beverages.

American Alcohol Photo Stimuli (AAPS): A standardized set of alcohol and matched non-alcohol images.

BACKGROUND: Photographic stimuli are commonly used to assess cue reactivity in the research and treatment of alcohol use disorder. The stimuli used are often non-standardized, not properly validated, and poorly controlled. There are no previously published, validated, American-relevant sets of alcohol images created in a standardized fashion. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to: 1) make available a standardized, matched set of photographic alcohol and non-alcohol beverage stimuli, 2) establish face validity, the extent to which the stimuli are subjectively viewed as what they are purported to be, and 3) establish construct validity, the degree to which a test measures what it claims to be measuring. METHODS: We produced a standardized set of 36 images consisting of American alcohol and non-alcohol beverages matched for basic color, form, and complexity. A total of 178 participants (95 male, 82 female, 1 genderqueer) rated each image for appetitiveness. An arrow-probe task, in which matched pairs were categorized after being presented for 200 ms, assessed face validity. Criteria for construct validity were met if variation in AUDIT scores were associated with variation in performance on tasks during alcohol image presentation. RESULTS: Overall, images were categorized with >90% accuracy. Participants' AUDIT scores correlated significantly with alcohol "want" and "like" ratings [r(176) = 0.27, p = <0.001; r(176) = 0.36, p = <0.001] and arrow-probe latency [r(176) = -0.22, p = 0.004], but not with non-alcohol outcomes. Furthermore, appetitive ratings and arrow-probe latency for alcohol, but not non-alcohol, differed significantly for heavy versus light drinkers. CONCLUSION: Our image set provides valid and reliable alcohol stimuli for both explicit and implicit tests of cue reactivity. The use of standardized, validated, reliable image sets may improve consistency across research and treatment paradigms.

Attitudes and Practices Regarding Responsible Beverage Service: Focus Group Discussions With Bar and Restaurant Management and Staff.

Staff and management of bars and restaurants are the key players in assuring responsible beverage service (RBS) and preventing the overservice of alcohol to intoxicated patrons. We conducted six focus group discussions ( N = 42) with management and staff from bars and restaurants about RBS. We compared findings from these current discussions to results of focus group discussions conducted in the 1990s. In comparison to the earlier focus group discussions, we found that many managers and staff members had experience with RBS training programs, establishments generally had written alcohol service policies, and managers and staff members perceived greater likelihood of facing consequences from law enforcement for serving underage youth. Managers and servers also expressed greater concern about overservice of alcohol but did not report greater concern about potential legal consequences for overservice of alcohol than participants from the 1990s focus groups. Results of this study can inform training and enforcement approaches to addressing overservice of alcohol.

Recent Advances in Food Processing Using High Hydrostatic Pressure Technology.

High hydrostatic pressure is an emerging non-thermal technology that can achieve the same standards of food safety as those of heat pasteurization and meet consumer requirements for fresher tasting, minimally processed foods. Applying high-pressure processing can inactivate pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms and enzymes, as well as modify structures with little or no effects on the nutritional and sensory quality of foods. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have approved the use of high-pressure processing (HPP), which is a reliable technological alternative to conventional heat pasteurization in food-processing procedures. This paper presents the current applications of HPP in processing fruits, vegetables, meats, seafood, dairy, and egg products; such applications include the combination of pressure and biopreservation to generate specific characteristics in certain products. In addition, this paper describes recent findings on the microbiological, chemical, and molecular aspects of HPP technology used in commercial and research applications.

An Ensemble Successive Project Algorithm for Liquor Detection Using Near Infrared Sensor.

Spectral analysis technique based on near infrared (NIR) sensor is a powerful tool for complex information processing and high precision recognition, and it has been widely applied to quality analysis and online inspection of agricultural products. This paper proposes a new method to address the instability of small sample sizes in the successive projections algorithm (SPA) as well as the lack of association between selected variables and the analyte. The proposed method is an evaluated bootstrap ensemble SPA method (EBSPA) based on a variable evaluation index (EI) for variable selection, and is applied to the quantitative prediction of alcohol concentrations in liquor using NIR sensor. In the experiment, the proposed EBSPA with three kinds of modeling methods are established to test their performance. In addition, the proposed EBSPA combined with partial least square is compared with other state-of-the-art variable selection methods. The results show that the proposed method can solve the defects of SPA and it has the best generalization performance and stability. Furthermore, the physical meaning of the selected variables from the near infrared sensor data is clear, which can effectively reduce the variables and improve their prediction accuracy.

Personalized feedback based on a drink-pouring exercise may improve knowledge of, and adherence to, government guidelines for alcohol consumption.

BACKGROUND: Although most people are aware of government guidelines for alcohol consumption, few have accurate knowledge of these and fewer still use these guidelines to monitor their drinking. Most people also lack accurate knowledge of the alcohol content of the drinks they consume. The aim of the study reported here was to examine whether or not personalized feedback on alcohol consumption based on performance in a drink-pouring task and self-reported alcohol intake would improve university students' knowledge of alcohol consumption guidelines and reduce their alcohol intake. METHODS: A quasi-randomized control trial with a 2-month follow-up was conducted with 200 students aged 18 to 37 in the south of England. Participants were allocated to a "pour + feedback" group that completed a drink-pouring task and received personalized feedback, a "pour only" group that completed the drink-pouring task but did not receive feedback, and a control group. RESULTS: At follow-up, participants in the "pour + feedback" group had significantly better knowledge of government guidelines, and significantly lower weekly alcohol intake when compared to the "control" and "pour only" groups. CONCLUSIONS: Further refinement of the drink-pouring intervention and feedback is reported in this paper, and assessment of their impact in various populations may lead to better understanding of which elements of personalized feedback have the greatest influence on young people's alcohol use.

Residents' knowledge of standard drink equivalents: implications for screening and brief intervention for at-risk alcohol use.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Screening and brief intervention for reducing alcohol consumption has been demonstrated to be effective in various medical settings. The NIAAA has recommended that physicians screen all patients for at-risk and problem drinking. Often, screening is based on the concept of a "standard drink." METHODS: We administered a survey to residents (N=270) in order to assess their knowledge of standard drink equivalents and quantities of alcohol in various sizes of bottles. RESULTS: Although 89% of the responders stated that they had previously learned about screening for at-risk alcohol use, the majority did not know basic facts about standard drink equivalents. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Many trainees are not familiar with typical standard drink equivalents. This can have a significant impact on the screening of patients for problem drinking using screening tools that rely on standard drink equivalents.

A new method for evaluating compliance with industry self-regulation codes governing the content of alcohol advertising.

BACKGROUND: This study evaluated the use of a modified Delphi technique in combination with a previously developed alcohol advertising rating procedure to detect content violations in the U.S. Beer Institute Code. A related aim was to estimate the minimum number of raters needed to obtain reliable evaluations of code violations in television commercials. METHODS: Six alcohol ads selected for their likelihood of having code violations were rated by community and expert participants (N = 286). Quantitative rating scales were used to measure the content of alcohol advertisements based on alcohol industry self-regulatory guidelines. The community group participants represented vulnerability characteristics that industry codes were designed to protect (e.g., age <21); experts represented various health-related professions, including public health, human development, alcohol research, and mental health. Alcohol ads were rated on 2 occasions separated by 1 month. After completing Time 1 ratings, participants were randomized to receive feedback from 1 group or the other. RESULTS: Findings indicate that (i) ratings at Time 2 had generally reduced variance, suggesting greater consensus after feedback, (ii) feedback from the expert group was more influential than that of the community group in developing group consensus, (iii) the expert group found significantly fewer violations than the community group, (iv) experts representing different professional backgrounds did not differ among themselves in the number of violations identified, and (v) a rating panel composed of at least 15 raters is sufficient to obtain reliable estimates of code violations. CONCLUSIONS: The Delphi technique facilitates consensus development around code violations in alcohol ad content and may enhance the ability of regulatory agencies to monitor the content of alcoholic beverage advertising when combined with psychometric-based rating procedures.

Is there a relationship between alcohol quality and health?

A clear definition of 'alcohol quality' is currently not available and the use of the term varies considerably depending on the scientific field and the individual author. Intrinsic factors of 'alcohol quality' may be taste and flavour or the absence of certain toxic contaminants. Extrinsic factors may include price, brand image, labelling or perceived authenticity, which are typically unrelated to public health outcomes. This article shows that using the term 'alcohol quality' with varying definitions and underlying concepts may lead to misunderstandings, if not to clear misinformation (sometimes also intentionally by industry) when 'lower quality' is interpreted as 'more toxic' especially in the case of substitution of commercial beverages to unrecorded alcohol. We suggest the use of clearly defined terms instead, such as 'taste quality' or 'brand price', whenever possible.

Polishing properties of sake rice Koshitanrei for high-quality sake brewing.

The Japanese high-quality sake Daiginjo-shu is made from highly polished rice (polishing ratio, less than 50%). Here we showed that the sake rice Koshitanrei (KOS) has an excellent polishing property. Rice grains of KOS had the same lined white-core region as the sake rice Yamadanishiki (YAM). The grain rigidity/hardness of KOS was higher than that of the sake rice Gohyakumangoku (GOM). The loss ratio of KOS after high polishing by an industrial polishing machine was lower than that of GOM. Further, a clear taste of sake produced from KOS was confirmed by sensory evaluation.

Enhanced labelling on alcoholic drinks: reviewing the evidence to guide alcohol policy.

BACKGROUND: Consumer and public health organizations have called for better labelling on alcoholic drinks. However, there is a lack of consensus about the best elements to include. This review summarizes alcohol labelling policy worldwide and examines available evidence to support enhanced labelling. METHODS: A literature review was carried out in June-July 2012 on Scopus using the key word 'alcohol' combined with 'allergens', 'labels', 'nutrition information', 'ingredients', 'consumer information' and/or 'warning'. Articles discussing advertising and promotion of alcohol were excluded. A search through Google and the System for Grey Literature in Europe (SIGLE) identified additional sources on alcohol labelling policies, mainly from governmental and organizational websites. RESULTS: Five elements were identified as potentially useful to consumers: (i) a list of ingredients, (ii) nutritional information, (iii) serving size and servings per container, (iv) a definition of 'moderate' intake and (v) a health warning. Alcohol labelling policy with regard to these aspects is quite rudimentary in most countries, with few requiring a list of ingredients or health warnings, and none requiring basic nutritional information. Only one country (Australia) requires serving size and servings per container to be displayed. Our study suggests that there are both potential advantages and disadvantages to providing consumers with more information about alcohol products. CONCLUSIONS: Current evidence seems to support prompt inclusion of a list of ingredients, nutritional information (usually only kcal) and health warnings on labels. Standard drink and serving size is useful only when combined with other health education efforts. A definition of 'moderate intake' and recommended drinking guidelines are best suited to other contexts.