Alcohol label checker and standard drinks calculator

Choose your product type, then check the volume and strength. The standard drinks figure appears first, with the wording to show, rounded as below. Below it, tick what is already on your label and the checker flags likely issues, each marked pass, warning or fail. It runs in your browser, so what you type stays on your device. If you ask for a quote from this page, a one-line summary of your result goes with the request. This is a check, not legal sign-off. Confirm your product’s rules with Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) and MPI.

How standard drinks are calculated

A standard drink is the amount of a beverage that contains 10 grams of ethanol, measured at 20°C. The calculator multiplies the volume in millilitres by the strength as a fraction, multiplies by 0.789 (the weight of a millilitre of ethanol in grams), then divides by 10. The calculator card rounds to one decimal place. The wording it suggests for your label follows the label rule below.

Above 10 standard drinks, round to a whole number on your label, whatever the calculator card shows.

Standard 2.7.1 asks for a statement of the approximate number of standard drinks on any beverage above 0.5% alcohol by volume. It sets the rounding: one decimal place for a pack of 10 standard drinks or fewer, and the nearest whole number for a pack of more than 10. The last column applies that rule, so a 700 mL bottle at 40% is 22 on the label. The checker’s wording uses the same figure. If you change the volume or strength, the number changes too. The guide covers the alcohol content and standard drinks rules.

What the checker covers

You tell the checker what is on your label, and it flags what is missing or worth a second look.

• Strength and standard drinks. It suggests the wording, with the label rounding above. Drinks of 1.15% alcohol or less get the “not more than” wording. It doesn’t read your artwork.
• Pregnancy warning. It checks that you have ticked it, and links the FSANZ files with the type suggested for your container size. FSANZ’s alcohol labelling page says alcoholic beverages above 1.15% alcohol by volume need the warning. The checker can’t see its size or placement. Read the pregnancy warning rules.
• Origin, producer and importer. It checks the name and address of the producer or importer. Country of origin is a fail only for wine. Beer, cider, spirits and RTDs don’t need one in NZ.
• Label basics. It checks the product name, a lot or batch ID and the net contents. A best-before date is a warning, for products with a shelf life under 2 years.
• Sulphites and other allergens. It prompts you to declare them. FSANZ’s allergen labelling page says added sulphites need declaring at 10 mg/kg or more. The allergens and sulphites section has more.
• Wine details. For wine, it asks about vintage, variety and region, and checks the vintage year is plausible.

Not sure how much room all of that needs? Start with the wine label sizes.

Coming up: energy labelling for alcohol

FSANZ Proposal P1059 brings in energy labelling for alcoholic beverages. FSANZ says the Code changes were gazetted on 13 August 2025 and businesses have three years from gazettal to comply, which runs to 13 August 2028. Most alcoholic drinks need an energy statement. It shows energy per serving and per 100 mL, the number of servings in the pack, the serving size and the standard drinks in one serving. A drink with a nutrition information panel doesn’t need a separate energy statement, but the panel must show the standard drinks in one serving. The checker adds a note about it for drinks of 0.5% alcohol or more, but it can’t tell whether your label has one. If you are planning a new label or a reprint, leave room for one. Read FSANZ’s P1059 page for the detail.