On 5 September 2016, the FSSAI published a Gazette notification on draft Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages Standards) Regulation 2016. The FSSAI has invited suggestions and objections, supported by scientific evidence, from any person with respect to the draft within a period of 30 days from the above-mentioned date. These regulations may be called the Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages Standards) Regulations, 2016 on their final publication in the Official Gazette. The standards specified in these regulations shall apply to distilled and un-distilled alcoholic beverages.
Chapter 1 of the draft regulations have defined the terms that will be used in the regulations like Alcohol by volume, alcohol by weight, alcohol beverage, distilled and un-distilled alcohol beverage, alcohol proof, brewery, denatured alcohol, distilled liquor or spirits, distillery, ethyl alcohol or ethanol, fermented liquor, hops, methyl alcohol or methanol, Neutral grain spirit or Pure grain alcohol (PGA) or Grain neutral spirit (GNS), Neutral spirit or Neutral alcohol, rectified spirit, winery, yeast.
Chapter 2 provides the standards for Distilled Alcoholic Beverages.
These standards are for beverages like
- Brandy, grape brandy and blended brandy cognac. Brandy can be labeled matured only if the maturing process exceeds one year
- Distilled country spirits like plain or blended or spiced country spirit, arrack, fenny. These spirits must be free from coloring matter except spiced country spirits that can contain caramel
- Gin both pre-mix and flavored gin
- Arak or Arack or Raki or Ouzo or Anise or Anisette: Anise-flavored liqueur or cordial.
- Rum will have matured label if maturing process is not less than six months
- Tequila shall be aged in oak barrels
- Vodka
- All kinds of whiskey. Malt or grain whiskey, when labeled as matured, shall be matured for a period of not less than one year in wooden oak, wooden vats or barrels. Blended malt whiskey, when labeled as matured, shall contain malt or grain whiskey matured for a period of not less than one year in oak vats or barrels in the blend.
Common standards for all distilled alcohol beverages
- To enhance characteristic flavor rum and whiskey products may contain natural or nature identical or artificial flavor permitted by the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011 except single malt whiskey
- All the above mention alcoholic beverages shall be free from chloral hydrate, ammonium chloride, diazepam, paraldehyde or any other types of narcotics, psychotropic substances including caffeine which, when mixed with alcohol, are all injurious to health.
- The ethyl alcohol content and tolerance level have been given against the standards for each type of alcoholic beverage.
- The water used for dilution to bottling strength should be as per IS 10500.
Chapter 3 deals with all the different categories of wines
Save as specifically mentioned in different categories, wine shall be the un-distilled alcoholic beverage produced by the normal alcoholic fermentation of the juice of sound ripe grapes (including restored or unrestored pure condensed grape must), with or without additives and with or without added grape brandy or alcohol, but without other addition or abstraction except as may occur in cellar treatment, provided that the product may be ameliorated before, during or after fermentation by either of the following methods:
- by adding separately or in combination, dry sugar or such amount of sugar (not more than 20 percent.) and water as shall not increase the volume of the resulting product more than 35 percent.
- save as specifically mentioned in different categories, any product ameliorated as above, shall in no event have an alcoholic content derived by fermentation, not less than 7.0 and not more than 15.5 percent. by volume.
Common requirements for all types of wine
- Wine shall be free from chloral hydrate, ammonium chloride, diazepam, paraldehyde or any other types of narcotics, psychotropic substances* including caffeine which when mixed with alcohol are injurious to health
- Wine shall be free from coliform and other pathogenic microorganisms and should have clarity with characteristic color, taste, bouquet, and form of its type.
- It shall be bottled or canned and effectively pasteurized or preserved. Wine shall be clear and shall have characteristic color, taste, and foam of its type.
- It may contain additives permitted under the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011.
Chapter 4 describes the standards for Beer
Beer is un-distilled alcoholic beverage made from any malted grain but commonly from barley malt, with hops or products obtained from hops to impart a bitter flavor and sometimes added with adjuncts like wheat, maize, corn rice, and sugar. Beer may contain additives permitted under the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011.
Depending upon the ethyl alcohol content beer can be classified as
Light – (more than 0.5 percent and up to 4 percent)
Standard – (more than 4.0 percent and up to 5 percent)
Strong – (more than 5.0 percent and up to 6 percent)
Super strong – (more than 6.0 percent up to 8 percent)
Requirements
- Beer shall have clarity with characteristic color, taste, bouquet, and form of its type. It shall be bottled, canned or kegged and effectively pasteurized.
- It shall be free from chloral hydrate, ammonium chloride, diazepam, paraldehyde or any other types of narcotics, psychotropic substances* including caffeine which, when mixed with alcohol are injurious to health.
- It shall be free from coliform and other pathogenic microorganisms.
Chapter 5 deals with standards for Low Alcoholic Beverages (Ready to Drink)
Chapter 6 deals with special labeling requirements for alcoholic beverages.
These labeling requirements are in addition to the applicable general labeling regulations laid down under the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011. Every package containing alcoholic beverages shall also bear the following on the label:-
- Declaration of alcohol by volume (abv)
- Alcohol content shall be expressed in ml/100 ml; or % v/v; or % vol or % abv or % alc/vol
- The label on a package of a beverage or a food capable of being consumed as a beverage, which contains more than 0.5 percent alcohol by volume, measured at 20ºC, shall include a statement of the approximate number of standard drink in the package
- Specifics are given for the labeling of wine as well
Allergen warning
- If the wine contains more than 10 mg Sulphur Dioxide per liter, the label must declare that “contains Sulphur Dioxide or Sulphite”.
- If egg white, milk, icing glass is used as fining, clarifying agents in wine and treated with casein, ovalbumin or tartrazine, use of these materials should be mentioned on the label.
- No health claim shall be made on alcoholic beverages.
There shall be a statutory warning ‘Consumption of alcohol is injurious to health’, printed in the English language at the manufacturer’s end. In case, respective states with the same to be printed in their local or regional language, the same shall be allowed through an additional sticker, without the need for repeating the English version.
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Praveen.U says
This is really a good time to see Alcoholic Beverages of both Non- Carbonated and Carbonated comes under the screening of FSSAI.
To preserve the taste of Beer many multinational company’s are operating at low P.U. The poor quality of Raw and processed water Which may hazardous for the consumers.Where they were targeting the pathogenic food spoilers only in the finished product.
Once the FSSAI Concentrate on Finished goods and Quality of Water used in process 90% of problem will resolve. on the other hand it will create a lot employment opportunity for the microbiologist .Hardly we don’t see a microbiologist in distilled alcoholic beverage industries. It’s really good initiative by FSSAI.