Sorry to disappoint anyone, but that’s not Attorney John Messinger over to the left. But it is John, over to the right, covering Gluten-Free Labeling for Beer, Wine and Spirits, in a recent issue of Beverage Master Magazine.
The full article is here. The first few paragraphs are here:
Gluten-free foods and beverages were one of the popular trends of 2014. In the past year, over 70 new alcohol beverage label approvals mentioned “gluten-free,” which is more than the combined total of gluten-free labels in 2012 and 2013. Breweries, wineries and distilleries who wish to cater to the gluten-free diet market and provide those with celiac disease additional choices can do so, but there are a fair amount of rules and red tape to wade through. This article breaks down the federal requirements for gluten-free labeling.
Background
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (“TTB”) regulates the labeling and advertising for the majority alcohol beverages. In May 2012, TTB issued an interim policy on gluten content statements in the labeling and advertising of beer, wine and distilled spirits, which allowed some products to make gluten-free claims (TTB Ruling 2012-2). This policy was issued pending guidance or rulemaking by the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) on the subject of gluten-free claims. In August 2013, FDA issued a final rule to establish a regulatory definition of gluten-free (21 CFR 101.91). TTB revised their policy on gluten-free labeling and advertising in February 2014 to be consistent with (but not identical to) FDA’s final rule (TTB Ruling 2014-2).
What Qualifies as Gluten-Free?
TTB’s current policy does not allow alcohol beverage products to be labeled and advertised as gluten-free if they are made from or contain:
- “Gluten-containing grains,” meaning wheat, rye, barley or crossbred hybrids (e.g. triticale);
- Ingredients made from gluten-containing grains, if those ingredients have not been processed to reduce the gluten content of the ingredient to a level below 20 parts per million (ppm).
In general, wines fermented from fruit and certain distilled spirits that are produced from specific non-grain commodities (e.g. rum, tequila, vodka distilled from cherries) can be labeled or advertised as gluten-free without substantial difficulty.
John is a beer and beverage lawyer in the Washington, DC area. Read on, here.
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