Washington, D.C. (December 29, 2020)—Today, the latest iteration of federal dietary guidelines was released. The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services, which are responsible for publishing the guidelines every five years, rejected recommendations from the advisory committee to limit the daily number of allowable drinks for men to one. The new dietary guidelines maintain previous recommendations that suggest consuming one drink per day for women and two for men can be part of a healthy lifestyle.

The American Beverage Institute (ABI), which submitted written testimony to the USDA and HHS during the drafting process, released the following statement:

The decision made by the federal government to maintain current dietary guidelines around alcohol intake reflects the current science and should be applauded. The USDA and HHS rightly rejected suggestions from the advisory committee to limit alcohol intake for men, which was not supported by the evidence. New developments regarding human health should never be dismissed, but the debate should be driven by sound science, not an agenda.