Lawsuits have been filed in several U.S. states against Anheuser-Busch, stating that the beer company has been mislabeling its product lines. According to information from former employees at the company’s 13 nationwide breweries, consumers have been cheated out of the alcohol content stated on labels.
The Associated Press spoke with the prosecution’s lead lawyer, Josh Boxer, who said that excess water is added just before bottling and cuts the stated alcohol content by 3 to 8 percent.
“Our beers are in full compliance with all alcohol labeling laws,” Peter Kraemer, vice president of Anheuser-Busch InBev brewing and supply, said in a statement. “We proudly adhere to the highest standards in brewing our beers, which have made them the best-selling in the U.S. and the world.”
The lawsuit claims that the beer company has sophisticated equipment that is capable of measuring alcohol content throughout the brewing process and is accurate to within one-hundredth of a percent. However, after Anheuser-Busch merged with InBev in 2008, the business increasingly chose to dilute its products.
One of the California plaintiffs, Nina Giampaoli, said in a news release that she is a loyal Budweiser customer and feels it is wrong for large corporations to be dishonest with consumers. Regardless of the product, people should be able to rely on the information companies put on their labels, she said.
Without accurate descriptions of an item, companies across numerous industries could suffer greatly. Not only could they lose consistent customers, depending on the product, it could be harmful to some individuals’ health if drink or food labels are not truthful.
Having colorful and unique labels will help draw customers in, but being able to design custom labels that are accurate is just as crucial to retaining those consumers.