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Posted: 12:19 PM- The LDS Church has weighed in on the controversial proposal to take flavored malt beverages off grocery store shelves, prompting one opponent of the measure to lament the battle "just got tougher."
Church spokesman Mark Tuttle said today leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints support the Utah Attorney General and the state's alcohol-control board in their belief "that the sale of distilled spirits - including so-called alcopops - should be restricted to state liquor stores. To allow the sale of distilled spirits in grocery and convenience stores promotes underage drinking and undermines the state system of alcohol control," Tuttle said in a prepared statement.
This is the first public statement by the LDS Church on restricting sales of flavored malt beverages to the state's 30 liquor outlets and 100 package agencies in small towns and resorts.
"There's no doubt that the battle just got tougher," said James Olsen, president of the Utah Food Industry Association, representing more than 8,000 grocery and convenience stores that sell flavored malt beverages.
This past fall the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission voted 3-2 to send to lawmakers a proposal restricting sales. One lawmaker reportedly is drafting such legislation.
Although flavored malt beverages have the same alcohol content as 3.2 percent beer sold in grocery stores, proponents of the restrictions say the malt beverages also contain small amounts of distilled spirits, which under Utah law must be sold in state liquor stores.