According to the study, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply-MAPA, for a beer to be considered alcohol-free, it does not need to be 100% free of it. Legislation allows them to have an alcohol content of up to 0.5% by volume (0.5% vol).
But this information is not always widely explained to the consumer. For this reason, in 2015, Ambev received a fine of R$1 million for stating, on the label and in advertisements, that Kronenbier beer was “alcohol-free”. In fact, it contained 0.3 grams of alcohol per 100 grams of drink, and this information was not clearly present on the beer label.
You have to pay attention to beer labels
What happens is that for a beer to be considered alcohol-free, it must display 0.0% information on the label. This means that the alcohol content of the drink is actually zero. Examples of beers containing this information include Brahma 0.0; Heineken 0.0; Budweiser 0.0; itaypava 0.0; Bavaria 0.0 etc
Those that may only say “non-alcoholic beer” may have some alcohol content. For example, a non-alcoholic packaging of Erdinger (German beer) says “alcohol-free”, but has 0.4% alcohol in its composition.
At the time Ambev was fined, other beers that only stated they were alcohol-free (without specifying zero percent on the label) also contained some amount of the substance, such as Cologne (0.2%) and Paulaner (0.4%). Schneider Weiss Tap 3 (0.3%).
Charlotte Whitmore is a contributor at Mediarunsearch.co.uk, covering a broad range of topics including news, politics, business, technology, sport, entertainment, and lifestyle. She focuses on delivering clear, balanced reporting and practical information that helps readers stay informed about current events and emerging developments. Her work highlights stories that matter to everyday audiences, with an emphasis on accuracy, relevance, and accessible journalism that keeps readers connected to the issues shaping the UK and beyond.