Through a notification dated 5 July 2019 the FSSAI has proposed amendments called the Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) Amendment Regulations, 2019. The Apex Regulator has also invited objections and suggestions which are to reach the FSSAI by 14 August 2019 for consideration. These may also be sent via e-mail to [email protected]
Draft regulations
The proposed amendments are in the Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) Regulations, 2018, –
In PART-1 Preliminary
Under Regulation 1.3 General Requirements
Sub-regulation 1.3.2 is proposed to be amended to the following
“1.3.2 The tolerance limit for ethyl alcohol content shall be ± 0.3 percent (-0.5 percent for up to 90 ml pet bottle) for up to 20 percent, and ±1.0 percent (-1.5 percent for up to 90 ml pet bottle) for more than20 percent abv of the declared strength. In the case of wine the tolerance limit shall be ± 0.5.”
sub-regulation 1.3.9 is proposed to be amended from
Alcoholic beverage shall be packed in suitable containers as specified in the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011:
Provided that bulk containers shall have no upper limit for alcohol content, and shall meet the safety parameters of the product standards. Such products shall also carry a label declaring, “For Manufacturer of Alcoholic Beverages only”.
“Alcoholic beverage containing not more than 8.0 percent. abv may be called a low alcoholic beverage, and shall conform to the requirements of table 1 except for residue on evaporation.”
Amended to the following
Alcoholic beverage shall be packed in suitable containers as specified in the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011:
Provided that bulk containers shall have no upper limit for alcohol content, and shall meet the safety parameters of the product standards. Such products shall also carry a label declaring, “For Manufacturer of Alcoholic Beverages only”.
“Alcoholic beverage containing not more than 8.0per cent. abv may be called a low alcoholic beverage. Low Alcoholic beverages, other than wine and beer shall conform to the requirements of Table-4.”
In PART -2 Distilled Alcoholic Beverages
Under regulation 2.1 Brandythe following changes are proposed
2.1.1 Under Grape Brandy: in Para 1 after the words “formed during fermentation”, the following shall be inserted, “and aging”
in 2.1.1, in para ‘2’ In case of brandy made from any fruit other than grapes, the name of the fruit shall be pre-fixed with the word ‘Brandy’“(example Apple Brandy, Plum Brandy)”
Indian brandy is proposed to be added
“2.1.3 Indian Brandy: Indian brandy shall be made either from the neutral spirit or rectified spirit or a mixture of both. On the label, the name ‘Indian Brandy’ shall be followed by a statement under bracket as ‘made from molasses spirit’ with a font size that is easily readable. The font size of the words ‘Indian’ and ‘Brandy’ shall be the same.”
Under regulation 2.2 Country Liquor
In 2.2.1 Plain country liquor
- for the word “Gur”, the following shall be substituted, namely, – “Gur”
- for the word “mahua”, the following shall be substituted, namely, – “mahua”
Under regulation 2.8 Whisky or Whiskey
In 2.8.1 Malt or grain whiskey, the definition has been amended to the following
(i) Single malt or Single grain whiskey: Single malt or Single grain whiskey is a distillate obtained from fermented mash that uses one particular malted barley or malted grain, respectively, distilled in a pot still only, and produced in a single distillery.”
Under Part-3 Wine and Fermented Beverages
Under regulation 3.1 Wine
In 3.1.1 Table wine or grape wine for the words “Table or grape wine may be of the following types”, the following shall be substituted
“Table wine may be of following types.”
In the same regulation under 3.1.1.2 White Wine, the definition for the following white wines has been changed to the following
“(i) Dry wine: Dry wine is a wine that contains up to 0.9 percent. sugar.”
In sub-regulation3.1.2 Based on carbon dioxide, the following shall be substituted
3.1.2.2 Sparkling: Sparkling wine has a carbon dioxide content of minimum 7.0 g/l or 3.5 bar pressure at20oC resulting solely from either the primary or the secondary fermentation of the wine within a closed container, tank or bottle. Based on the sugar content the sparkling wines may be of the following types:
i) Brut: It has sugar content below 1.2 percent.
ii) Extra-Dry: It contains more than 1.2 upto 1.7 percent. sugar with a tolerance of 0.3 percent.
iii) Dry: It contains more than 1.7 upto 3.2 percent. sugar with a tolerance of 0.3 percent.
iv) Semi-Dry: It is a wine which contains more than 3.2 up to 5.0 percent. sugar.
v) Sweet: It contains more than 5.0 percent. sugar”
In 3.1.3, Fortified winethe following shall be substituted
“3.1.3 Fortified wine: Fortified wine is a wine with high alcohol content achieved by the addition of alcohol(brandy or wine spirits or neutral spirit of agricultural origin) provided a minimum 7 .0 percent comes from the fermentation of grapes, grape must and fruits and used as an aperitif or dessert wine. Fortified wine may be red or white, dry or sweet.
Fortified wines are of following types:
3.1.3.1 Sherry: is commonly a white wine fermented to dryness followed by the addition of alcohol(brandy or wine spirits) to stabilize during maturation in contact with air.
3.1.3.2 Port wines: Port (protected under Geographical Indicator) is a fortified wine in which fermentation is stopped at 4-6 % abv by filtration and fortification with alcohol (brandy or wine spirits).
3.1.3.3 Aromatized wine: Aromatized wine is a fortified wine to which alcohol (brandy or wine spirits)and extract of aromatic herbs and or spices are added. The aromatized wines are of the following types:
(i) Vermouth: Vermouth is a wine having the taste, aroma, and characteristics derived from the addition of extract of herbs and spices, attributed to vermouth, and shall be so designated.
(ii) Bitter aromatized wine: is an aromatized wine with a characteristic bitter taste.
(iii) Dessert wine: Dessert wine is generally sweet and fortified with grape brandy.
Under 3.1.4Wine from fruits other than grapes, the amendment is as follows after the words “wine produced from fruit other than grapes should be prefixed with the name of the fruit. Example wine such as plum wine, apricot wine, pear wine)”
In the same regulation item, 3.1.4.3 Other fruit wines shall be omitted.
Under 3.1.5, Wine from other agricultural and plant sources for Palm Wine the changes are as follows
“3.1.5.1 Palm wine/Toddy: Palm wine/Toddy is a wine prepared from the sap of palm trees and coconut palms.”
Under regulation 3.2In addition to the general requirement specified in Part 1 and the requirements specified in Table-2, wine shall also confirm to the following requirements:
(iii) Water added in preparation of wine shall not be more than 70 ml per kg of grape or fruit:
(a) necessary to incorporate any permitted additive and processing aid
(b) necessary to facilitate fermentation; or
(c) incidental to the winemaking process.
Incidental water is intended to cover small amounts of water which may be present from production processes such as residual water remaining in tanks and pipes after washing and cleaning and hosing out bins to force the last of the grapes into the crushers, where the water used is the minimum needed to perform the technological purpose (i.e. using good manufacturing practices). Water is also permitted to include the addition of permitted processing aids and food additives added as an aqueous solution. The sub-clause 3.2 (iii) does not contain express permission for water added to dilute high sugar musts to
limit the occurrence of “stuck” fermentation.”
Under Part-5-Specific Labelling Requirements for Alcoholic Beverages
In regulation 5.1Declaration of alcohol content: Alcohol content shall be expressed as per cent. abv or as proof. the following sub-regulation shall be inserted after the above
5.1.1 The Pot distilled alcohol shall be labelled as ‘Pot- Still/Pot -Still Distilled/Pot- Distilled’ on the package.”
In regulation 5.3 about Geographical Indicators, the regulation has been amended to the following
“5.3 Geographical indicators (GI) or names may be used on the label solely for the products originating from that geographical region. Such products shall be registered under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 and meet the country-specific regulations for such GI products of the country of origin.
Further, such products shall conform to the limits of heavy metals and microbiological requirements as specified under these regulations and other regulations notified under the Act.”
In the regulation 5.9 Labelling of Wineunder, 5.9.1 labels must also
(i) Indicate the origin (country or state) of wine and declare the range of sugar as specified under these regulations.”
In regulation 5.12 about statutory warningfor the words and figures “Size of statutory warning shall not be less than 3 mm.”
The following is the amendment
“Size of statutory warning shall not be less than 1.5 mm for pack size of upto 200ml and for pack size above 200 ml, the size of the warning shall not be less than 3 mm.”
In TABLE-1
in Serial no. 5 – Methyl alcohol (expressed as g/100 l of distilled absolute alcohol”
will be amended to the following
Methyl alcohol (expressed as g/100 l of absolute alcohol)
In TABLE-2
The heading Table or Grape Wine in column (3) and (4) will be changed to “Table Wine”
TABLE-4 has been added as the following
TABLE – 4
[See sub-regulation 1.3.9]
Requirements for Low Alcoholic Beverages other than wine and beer
| S. NO | Characteristics | Requirements |
| 1. | Ethyl alcohol content at 20 degree C, per cent by volume | 0.5 to 8.0 |
| 2. | Residue on evaporation, per cent. (g/litre), Max. | 25.0 |
| 3. | Total acids as tartaric acid, per cent. (m/v), Max. | 1.0 |
| 4. | Methyl alcohol (expressed in terms of g/100 l of absolute alcohol), Max. | 25.0 |
| 5. | Sugar, per cent. (w/v), Max. | 20.0 |
| 6. | pH | 2.0 to 5.0 |
| 7. | Copper (mg/l), Max. | 1.0 |
| 8. | Iron (as Fe) mg/l, Max. | 5.0 |
| 9. | Lead (mg/l), Max. | 0.2 |
| 10. | Arsenic (mg/l), Max. | 0.25 |
| 11. | Cadmium (mg/l), Max. | 0.1 |
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