TTB Issues Final Rule Amending Labeling Requirements for Alcoholic Beverages
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is finalizing changes to its regulations on labeling and advertising of wine, distilled spirits and malt beverages. The agency’s final rule adopts “certain liberalizing and clarifying changes that were proposed, and that could be implemented quickly to provide industry members greater flexibility,” it said. The final rule takes effect May 4.
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Amendments to TTB’s regulations made by the final rule include an increase in the tolerance applicable to alcohol content statements on distilled spirits levels, and removal of the current prohibition against age statements on several classes and types of distilled spirits. TTB is also removing outdated prohibitions against the use of the term “strong” and other indications of alcohol strength on malt beverage labels, and removing a limitation on the way distilled spirits producers may count the distillations when making optional “multiple distillation” claims on their labels.
TTB is not adopting several provisions of its November 2018 proposed rule (see 1811230015), including “the proposal to define an ‘oak barrel’ for purposes of aging distilled spirits, the proposal to require that statements of composition for distilled spirits specialty products list components in ‘intermediate’ products and list distilled spirits and wines used in distilled spirits specialty products in order of predominance, and the proposal to adopt new policies on the use of cross-commodity terms.”