My colleagues on the Alcohol and Beverage team posted today on Husch Blackwell''s Food & Agribusiness blog regarding new regulations that will impact craft brewers. Because of the overlap of issues we''ve previously blogged about, I thought it was of equal interest to this blog''s readers. Enjoy!
By: James Mathis and Jonathan Allen
New regulations from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding nutritional information labeling are generating concern within the beer industry that the cost of compliance might be damaging and cost prohibitive for the industry.
Effective December 1, 2016, the FDA will require disclosure of nutritional information for regular menu items, including alcohol beverages, appearing on menus for larger restaurant and brew pub chains.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) amended the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) to require disclosure of caloric counts for standard menu items at restaurant and brew pub chains with 20 or more locations nationwide. Craft brewers have expressed concern that the cost of the nutritional testing could make it difficult to compete with larger brewers, particularly with respect to seasonal or smaller batch beers. Originally set to go in effect in 2015, the FDA extended the time to comply with the regulation from December 1, 2015 to December 1, 2016, in large part to accommodate the concerns of the craft beer industry. (For more on the extension, see our previous post here.)
The beer industry could elect to fight the FDA’s regulatory power to weigh in on matters traditionally left to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). The FDA has authority over labeling of all “food,” which by definition includes certain alcoholic beverages. Since the end of prohibition, however, the TTB and its predecessor agencies have generally exercised authority to regulate all things alcohol, including product labeling, to the exclusion of the FDA’s jurisdiction.
The two agencies’ regulatory authority over alcohol beverages has been contested often. While the FDA and TTB have fought about their regulatory overlap at times, they have also worked together (for example, on “gluten-free” labeling issues). Even in the era of cooperation, however, the FDA’s proposed labeling regulations may spark another dispute between the agencies, and provide leverage that the craft beer industry could use to fight the regulation.
The Husch Blackwell Alcohol and Beverage team will continue to monitor these and other regulatory issues and can assist with all compliance-related issues.