Food Safety and Standards Alcoholic Beverages Standards Regulations 2018

Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages Standards) Regulations, 2018

The FSSAI gazette notification dated F. No. 2/SA-24/2009(1)/FSSAI. will be effective from 1st April 2019. Key changes in the notifications are:

• Alcohol content to be declared.
• Labeling of standard drink: The label may include a statement of the approximate number of standard drinks in the package.
• Geographical indicators or names may be used on the label solely for the products originating from that geographical region.
• No nutritional information should be displayed on the label of alcoholic beverages.
• There should be no health claim.
• Beverages containing more than 0.5 percent ethyl alcohol content should not have a declaration on label as “non-intoxicating”.
• Food containing alcohol must not be represented in a form which expressly or by implication suggests that the product is a non-alcoholic confection or non-alcoholic beverage.
• In case of wines, declaration of geographic origin, variety of grapes used, vintage year (in case of claim) should be included.
• Alcoholic beverage other than wine which contain less than 10 per cent alcohol shall mention best before or expiry date.
• Allergen warning.
• If the wine contains more than 10 mg sulfur dioxide per litre, the label must declare “Contains sulfur dioxide or Contains sulfite”.
• In case egg white or ising glass as fining, clarifying agent or any other processing aid of animal origin is used in wine, it shall be declared on the label with a non-vegetarian logo, if residues of the same are present in the final product.
• There shall be a statutory warning as printed in English language or regional language. Size of statutory warning shall not be less than 3 mm.

To read the detailed gazette notification, click here.