The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is issuing final guidance to help manufacturers in labeling bottled or otherwise packaged beers that are subject to FDA’s labeling laws and regulations. The final guidance, which was issued in draft form in August 2009, follows a 2008 ruling by the Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) clarifying that certain beers that do not meet the definition of “malt beverages” are not subject to the labeling provisions of the Federal Alcohol Administration Act. Specifically, this refers to beers that are not made from both malted barley and hops but are instead made from substitutes for malted barley (such as sorghum, rice or wheat) or are made without hops. These beers are subject to the food labeling provisions of FDA laws and regulations.
The guidance explains the requirements for such beers. As with other FDA regulated foods, mandatory information required on the labels of these non malt beers include, among other things, a listing of ingredients in the product, a Nutrition Facts label, and the name of the source of any major food allergen present in the product.