fda

Kombucha law is on the front page of tomorrow’s Wall Street Journal. Because kombucha law is so interlinked with alcohol beverage law, this is to underscore some alcohol beverage points only touched upon lightly in the article (subscription required).

1. TTB has decided that most kombucha is beer for tax and permit purposes.
2. This is because it is fermented tea. It is beer rather than a “malt beverage” because it lacks hops and malted barley.
3. Most kombuchas are over 0.5% alcohol by volume during production, but less than that amount after bottling and at consumption. These can be called over-under kombuchas.
4. It is ok for a kombucha to be 0.5% alcohol by volume or higher, after bottling, but only if the product jumps through most of the hoops required for Budweiser. This would include permits, taxes, a Government Warning, no sales to minors, sales via the three tier system. These can be called over-over kombuchas.
5. Unlike Budweiser, the legal requirements would not include TTB label approval, because, like gluten free beer, the product lacks the hops and malted barely that would otherwise confer labeling jurisdiction upon TTB.
6. Most kombuchas need FDA rather than TTB labeling.
7. The article mentions a few recent lawsuits on these topics. So far there are five class action lawsuits. Two of...

Here is a good and recent Warning Letter from FDA. I say good because it certainly appears to be well written, and to explain the law in a way that is sometimes hard to glean from the boring old regulations. Also, it seems to be a good thing, that we have a government whose first response is to send a firm letter, instead of, for example, some jackbooted thugs. FDA seems to put out a handful of such Warning Letters per month, on food and food labeling. I am looking at this today because I often wonder why TTB does not get into the Warning Letter business. I think it could be a good way to explain some of the arcane rules so the people who want to comply, have a better chance to do so. Of course, like in so many other areas where TIWWCHNT, another lawyer explained how such letters can badly backfire. He explained that such letters, especially when they are good and clear, tend to serve as a template, for rapacious plaintiff class action lawyers to feast upon.

Here are some useful lessons, from this snapshot/letter, roughly in order of appearance in the letter:

1. FDA really does conduct food inspections in far away places such as Japan.
2. It is weird...

The Daily Beast published a highly relevant story a few days ago, slamming Fireball and propylene glycol. Fireball is a hugely popular “Cinnamon Whisky,” and a recent label approval is here. The story explains that Fireball contains propylene glycol, commonly known as PG, and in the most alarming way that could probably be set forth without a big lawsuit, the article heaps scorn upon PG and Fireball. As of today, Google has more than 81,000 stories about fireball propylene glycol, but the Beast story was one of the first.

The article trots out alarming buzzwords such as: recall, antifreeze, swill, Prestone, Low-Tox, disease, health risks. It says:

One key ingredient of the stuff: Propylene glycol, a synthetic liquid that absorbs water. The Centers for Disease Control note that it is used to ‘make polyester compounds, and as a base for deicing solutions.’ In food production, the CDC adds, the syrupy stuff also can be used to “maintain moisture… It is a solvent for food colors and flavors.”

I called on a few experts in writing this blog post because I think Tim Mak’s article may be unfair to Fireball, its producer (Sazerac) and the important food chemical known as propylene glycol. Kevin at Nutrevolve sums it up pithily: “Anyone who has compared propylene glycol to...