Based on preliminary results from Tuesday’s election, it appears that Washington State’s hotly debated Initiative 522 (I-522) concerning the labeling of genetically-engineered foods has gone the way of California’s Proposition 37. Washington officials reported on Wednesday, November 6, 2013 that voters had rejected the measure, 54% to 46%. California’s similar labeling measure, Proposition
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Federal Officials Mull Changes to Alcohol Label Approval Process
By Bernie Kipp on
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) official Susan Evans, the Executive Liaison for State and Industry Matters, talked about ways to streamline the federal label approval process at the June 2013 National Conference of State Liquor Administrators (NCSLA) that I attended in Honolulu. Speaking on a panel, she said that the TTB has experienced reduced staffing and declining budgets, which have slowed down two of its major functions: permitting and approving labels.
According to Ms. Evans, nearly 25,000 permittees submit certificate of label approvals (COLAs) to TTB . Last year TTB received over 145,000 COLA applications. In the last two years, TTB has imposed fewer restrictions and qualifications, updated the COLA form to allow changes that may be made to labels without TTB approval, and established a virtual file room for processing paper applications electronically.
In addition, TTB recently reviewed the label approval program and concluded the following:…
Continue Reading Federal Officials Mull Changes to Alcohol Label Approval Process
Conjunctive Labeling Comes to Sonoma County
By Jake W. Storms on
With the turn of the calendar and after nearly a year of political wrangling, conjunctive labeling will be the norm for Sonoma County wineries beginning in 2014. Passed by unanimous vote in both the state assembly and senate in August and signed by Governor Schwartzenegger at the end of September, AB 1798 will require…
Variations of Organic Labeling
By Elaine Albrich on
Posted in Licenses & Permits
Figuring out what information must be on your wine label can be tedious. Adding terms like "organic" or "sustainably-grown" can be even more challenging. Extra steps are required for adding organic certifications or claims to a wine label, although the regulation of such claims under the TTB COLA process has been made more clear with the Memorandum…