TTB Aligns 'Gluten-Free' Labeling Requirements with FDA Final Rule
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) updated its policy for "gluten-free" labeling following a review of the Food and Drug Administration's final rule on the subject issued in August (see 13080213), said TTB. "TTB believes that it is important to adopt an approach on this issue that is as consistent as possible with the regulations that FDA issued," it said. "Under our updated policy, alcohol beverages that are made from ingredients that do not contain gluten (such as wines fermented from grapes or other fruit and distilled spirits distilled from materials other than gluten-containing grains) may continue to make 'gluten-free' claims in the same way allowed in the new FDA regulations for inherently gluten-free products."
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The agency noted that the "FDA has determined there is still no scientifically valid way to evaluate the claims that beers made from gluten-containing grains can be processed in a way that removes gluten and that there is inadequate evidence about whether such methods are effective." Therefore, "products made from gluten-containing grains may be labeled with a statement that the product was 'Processed,' 'Treated,' or 'Crafted' to remove gluten, if that claim is made together with a qualifying statement that warns the consumer that the gluten content of the product cannot be determined and that the product may contain gluten," it said. TTB may "revise this policy after FDA issues a final rule or other guidance with respect to fermented and hydrolyzed products."