On December 18, 2015, President Obama signed the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (“the PATH Act”) into law. The PATH Act contains changes to certain statutory provisions which are administered by TTB, including applicable sections of the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) which apply to alcohol beverages. In particular, the…
Tag: FDA
Recent Publication: Label Lawsuit Lessons
The November/December 2015 issue of Vineyard & Winery Management magazine features one of my most recent articles, Label Lawsuit Lessons. The article details the implications the 2014 Supreme Court case POM Wonderful LLC v. Coca-Cola Co. may have on the wine industry. Specifically, the article looks at the idea that a COLA may simply be…
Post-Pom Wonderful and the Not So Wonderful Impact on Alcohol Beverages
In June of last year, the Supreme Court decided a rather revolutionary case for the food industry: Pom Wonderful LLC v. The Coca-Cola Company. The case, which was commenced by Pom Wonderful, questioned the label of a competitor’s product, Coca-Cola’s Minute Maid Blueberry Pomegranate juice. The Minute Maid label contained the words…
Coming Soon to a Menu Near You: Alcohol Calorie Counts
Last week, the FDA published a final rule in the Federal Register that mandates calorie and nutrition information be listed on menus and menu boards to certain restaurants and retail food establishments. The requirements, which go into effect on December 1, 2015, extend to restaurants and retail food establishments that are part of…
Is TTB Next? FDA’s New Proposed Nutrition Label and its Effects on Alcohol Beverages
Last year, I blogged several times about nutrition facts panels and ingredients statements in relation to wine and other TTB-regulated alcohol products. See A Regulatory Analysis: Nutrition Fact Panels and Ingredient Statements on Alcohol Beverages; Full Ingredients List to Appear on 2011 Ridge Vineyards Wine Label. As many know, for the majority of…
TTB to Review its Policy on the Term “Gluten-Free” for Alcohol Beverage Labeling
On August 22, 2013, TTB announced that the agency will be reviewing its policy on the use of the term “gluten-free” on alcohol beverages that are regulated by TTB. See Use of “Gluten-Free” on TTB-Regulated Alcohol Beverages. This announcement is timely because, as TTB properly highlighted, the United States Food and Drug…
Full Ingredients List to Appear on 2011 Ridge Vineyards Wine Label
Ridge Vineyards 2011 wine label will feature a full ingredients list on its wine label. Read more about why, under U.S. law, ingredients are unique on wine labels.
A Regulatory Analysis: Nutrition Fact Panels and Ingredient Statements on Alcohol Beverages
Why do some wines have nutrition fact panels and some wines do not? What are the differences between FDA and TTB labeling for wines? Low volume alcohol wine label requirements.
Additional Update from the TTB on Labeling Disclosure for Cochineal Extract and Carmine on Alcohol Labels
TTB recently announced, in final rule T.D. TTB-103, it is amending labeling regulations to require the listing of cochineal extract and carmine on the label of any alcohol beverage that contains one or both of the color additives. According to the final rule, “[t]his rule responds to a final rule issued by the Food…
A Note on the Labeling of Wine in the United States
Labeling wine (or what appears to be wine) in the United States can often times prove to be quite confusing. Generally speaking, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (hereinafter “TTB“) of the U.S. Department of Treasury (or, formally, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, hereinafter “BATF”) has…