Update from Washington D.C.

There are sixteen legislative days left in before Congress adjourns for the Presidential Nominating Conventions and for the August Recess. The Senate and the House are both working on Department of Defense matters this week. The House is considering the FY 2017 Department of Defense Appropriations Act, while the Senate considers the Defense Authorization Act. Both of these bills should take up the entire week on the Hill.

 

Pennsylvania Opens to Direct-to-Consumer Shipping

Pennsylvania has become the 44th State to allow direct-to-consumer shipping for wine. Last week Governor Tom Wolf (D) signed House Bill 1690 into law, opening up state. Now, only six states prohibit direct-to-consumer shipping: Alabama, Delaware, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Utah. Pennsylvania is a “control state” and the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) will remain in place. For our full analysis of the bill please go here.

 

FDA Issues New Nutrition Facts Label

The Food and Drug Administration has revised its nutrition fact label. This is of relevance to the wine industry as beverages that contain alcohol under 7% alcohol by volume are required to include the nutritional label on all products. The new label features a refreshed design, reflects updated information about nutrition science and updates serving sizes and labeling requirements for certain package sizes. The new labels notate that “added sugar” must be added to the label.

 

Most food manufacturers will be required to use the new label by July 26, 2018. Manufacturers with less than $10 million in annual food sales will have an additional year to comply with the new rules. The FDA plans to conduct outreach and education efforts on the new requirements.

 

For more information please visit the FDA website.

 

Questions? Contact Michael Kaiser, Director of Public Affairs, mkaiser@wineamerica.org