FSSAI releases draft on alcoholic beverages; issues separate regulations for each type

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) released the draft stating new standards for alcoholic beverages, defining each type of beverage and cites separate regulations for them. Along with the draft FSSAI also released the process through which a beverage can be obtained.
“Alcoholic beverage means a beverage or a liquor or brew containing more than 0.5 per cent ethyl alcohol (ethanol) by volume/volume as the active agent. Also the ethyl alcohol used in the production of alcoholic beverages shall be of agricultural origin”, the draft states.
A N Panchal, food safety officer, food department, Rajkot Municipal Corporation, said, “FSSAI has done its job well. The scientific panels have to be credited for these standards as they are well drafted giving specifications of each type of the alcoholic beverage and further narrowing down to the sub-types of each of them. The FSSAI has given time to the stakeholders to give their views in this regard before October 9.”
The draft mentions the two processes through which beverages can be obtained distilled and un-distilled, where distilled means a distilled beverage, spirit or liquor containing ethanol that is made by distilling ethanol produced by fermentation of cereal grain, fruit, vegetables, molasses or any other source of carbohydrates. The undistilled means fermented undistilled alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine, cider and toddy.
“Low alcoholic beverage, ready-to–drink shall be a low alcoholic, flavored beverages within 0.5 to 8.0% of alcohol, made from spirit or mixture of spirit or any alcoholic beverage as base by adding natural or nature identical or artificial flavours or food additives permitted under the FSS (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011 and or fruit or vegetable juice with or without added sugar or salt and with or without carbonation”, states FSSAI draft.
“The labelling requirements specified in the draft have also asked to state standard drinks that the package or container could make and also specify allergens for some types of alcoholic beverages,” added Panchal.
The draft identifies and defines various kinds of alcohol such as brandy, cognac, whisky (bourbon, Irish whisky, single malt, blended malt, Scotch in detail) gin, vodka, fenny and arrack. The draft widening its scope has even laid down standards for various country spirits.
Further, with regard to labelling, the draft demands mention of the number of standard drinks, best before or use by date. In case of imported alcoholic beverages, the information regarding the name and address of the importer shall be allowed to be affixed in the custom bonded warehouse in the form of an additional sticker in a manner that it does not overlap or cover the original information of the label in any manner while the FSSAI logo and licence number is also mandatory.