BEER LABELLING TOOLKIT & Logo Usage Guide ST CHECKL For Beer Canada members only JUNE 2016 VERSION 1 Beer Canada Logo BEERCANADA.COM Beer Canada Bilingual Black & White
CONTENTS 3 INTRODUCTION... 5 SECTION I: MANDATORY LABELLING REQUIREMENTS FOR BEER Common Name... 6 Net Quantity... 7 Alcohol by Volume... 9 Identity and Principal Place of Business... 9 Excise Requirements... 10 11 SECTION II: ADDITIONAL LABELLING REQUIREMENTS FOR NON-STANDARD BEER Common Name... 11 List of Ingredients... 12 List of Food Allergens, Gluten Sources and Added Sulphites... 12 13 SECTION III: USE OF PICTURES, VIGNETTES AND LOGOS ON A BEER LABEL 14 SECTION IV: USE OF ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS IN NON-STANDARD BEER 15 SECTION V: USE OF VIGNETTES AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOURS 16 SECTION VI: VOLUNTARY CLAIMS Gluten Free... 16 Organic... 17 Extra Light and Light... 17 Product of Canada... 18 Genetically Engineered... 18 Quantitative Nutrient Content Claim... 19 Ingredient List... 19 20 SECTION VII: DE-ALCOHOLIZED BEER 21 APPENDIX ITEMS Item 1(a): Federal Standard of Identity for Beer... 21 Item 1(b): Federal Standard of Identity for Ale, Stout, Porter and Malt Liquor... 21 Item 2: Standard Beer Labelling Requirement Checklist... 22 Item 3: Generic Image of a Compliant Beer Label... 23
INTRODUCTION The guidance contained in this document is intended to assist domestic brewers on how to label packaged beers that are subject to Canadian labelling laws and regulations. The document is divided into the following seven sections. Section I: Mandatory Labelling Requirements for Beer Section II: Additional Labelling Requirements for Non-Standard Beer Section III: Use of Pictures, Vignettes and Logos on a Beer Label Section IV: Use of Artificial Sweeteners in Non-Standard Beer Section V: Use of Vignettes and Artificial Flavours Section VI: Voluntary Claims Section VII: De-alcoholized Beer Developed with the assistance of Beer Canada s Product Quality Committee. The guidance included in this document relates to the primary package, meaning the can or bottle. Further information about Beer Canada can be found at beercanada.com 3
TOOLKIT OVERVIEW Section I contains a summary of the labelling requirements for products that meet the compositional standard of identity for beer, ale, stout, porter and malt liquor, which can be found in Section B.02.130 and B.02.131 of the Food and Drug Regulations. Beverage alcohol products that meet the compositional standard of identity have a set of unique labelling requirements that differ from other foods and non-standard beverage alcohol products. The term beer, when used in this document, refers to all beverage alcohol products that meet the standard of identity for beer, ale, stout, porter or malt liquor. Sections II-V provides brewers with information on other labelling provisions that relate to beer including the use of images on a beer label, as well as information on the additional labelling requirements that are triggered when ingredients that are not permitted under the standard of identity for beer are used. Beers that contain such ingredients are subject to a different set of mandatory labelling requirements, compared to products that use only ingredients permitted in the standard of identity. Section VI is meant to provide brewers with information on the criteria that must be met in order to make a variety of desirable marketing claims about a beer. The information included in this section is not meant to be exhaustive, but rather is meant to serve as a starting point for brewers seeking to understand what must be done to make such claims. Finally, section VII looks at de-alcoholized beer, how they are defined and the labelling requirements that are associated with such products. As is the case for all foods sold in Canada, the labelling of beer must be truthful and not misleading as required by Section 5 of the Food and Drugs Act and Section 7 of the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act (CPLA). Food labels must also be in compliance with all other regulatory requirements as set out in the Food and Drug Regulations, the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Regulations, the Competition Act and any other relevant legislation. We hope you find that this document provides a general understanding of beer-related federal labelling legislation. For the purposes of interpreting and applying the law, the official version of the applicable legislation remains within the Food and Drugs Act, the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act and other applicable Acts. Should you have any questions or recommendations on ways to improve this document please contact lchapman@beercanada.com. DISCLAIMER: The information included in this document reflects the views of Beer Canada. It cannot be relied upon as stating the law. Beer Canada is not responsible for enforcement of the laws/regulations or for providing a final decision on food compliance issues. 4
MEMBERS ONLY This Toolkit & Checklist is for Beer Canada members only. Access it on our members only Wiki. A username and password is required. To join the Association and for full access of our services contact cheers@beercanada.com. BEERCANADA.COM