Consumers, scientists and alcohol safety activists are attacking plans by the Scottish government to add vitamins to beer as they say the proposed public health measure restricts consumer choice.
Market research company Datamonitor reports that government ministers in Scotland are currently considering proposals to add thiamine, also known as vitamin B1, to ales and beers to help prevent alcohol-related brain diseases. The vitamin helps stave off Wernicke's encephalopathy and the closely related Korsakoff's psychosis, which affect a small number of heavy drinkers.
However critics say the move removes individual choice and undermines warnings of the dangers of drinking. Members of the scientific advisory commission on nutrition have also raised questions of legality and labelling, and others are concerned about practicality and ethics, reports Datamonitor.
Vitamin B1 is routinely added to a wide range of foods, including breakfast cereal and bread but the growing interest in functional foods and nutraceuticals has opened up important new market sectors for food manufacturers.
The report however highlights the contradiction between willingly accepted functional foods and the scorn which the beer additive plan has raised. Demand is strong for products that offer choice and clear health benefits - but under the proposals to add vitamins to beer both the health benefits are questionable, and consumers would not have the choice to avoid them.
The stiff opposition to vitamin-enriched beer certainly reinforces the message that consumers' attitudes to food additives are complex and emotional. Amid the countless product launches every year, understanding them will be essential, concludes Datamonitor.