In response to consumer interest in gluten labeling, guidelines for labeling alcohol beverages with gluten content claims were issued May 24, 2012 by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). Since efforts to remove gluten from products that inherently contain the protein are not always foolproof, the ruling differentiates between products made from ingredients that contain gluten and those that do not.
Currently scientific tests cannot accurately measure the gluten content of these fermented products. Therefore, TTB is not allowing products made from gluten containing ingredients to be labeled as “gluten-free” – even when processed to remove the gluten.
TTB is allowing products made from non-gluten containing ingredients to be labeled “gluten-free” if the manufacturer takes precautions to avoid cross-contamination with gluten during processing.
As part of a four year strategic plan for food and nutrition, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be teaming-up with industry on public health goals – including food labeling. This plan includes a commitment to publish a final rule on the use of the term “gluten-free” on food product labels. The FDA first proposed gluten labeling parameters in 2007, but had yet to finalize them. Based on the final issuance of these rules, TTB will evaluate whether their ruling on gluten labeling of alcohol should be revised.
