Department of the Treasury
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
Washington, DC 20226
July 29, 2002
OPEN LETTER TO ALL ALCOHOL BEVERAGE PRODUCERS, BOTTLERS, AND IMPORTERS REGARDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL ORGANIC PROGRAM
Dear Industry Member:
According to records held by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), your company holds a Certificate of Label Approval (COLA) that makes organic label claims. This letter serves as a reminder that effective October 21, 2002, all COLAs that make an organic claim will be revoked by operation of regulation unless they have been reviewed against and comply with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations relating to the National Organic Program (NOP) at 7 CFR Part 205.
While ATF is in the process of finalizing the procedures for enforcing the labeling aspect of this program with USDA, it is ATF's intention to provide advanced notification of these changes and to encourage immediate compliance with them. The most obvious change is that all alcohol beverages bearing an organic claim will be required to show a complete ingredient statement on the label. The other significant change involves the certification of producers and handlers who wish to make organic label claims. In order to make such a claim on a label, industry members must apply directly to a USDA-accredited certifying agent for certification. Additional details about the labeling requirements and certification process can be found at the NOP's website at www.ams.usda.gov/nop.
In the future, when ATF receives label applications that contain organic references, we will review the labels for compliance with the Federal Alcohol Administration Act and the Alcohol Beverage Labeling Act (Health Warning Statement) and we will also forward the application to AMS for concurrent review to determine if it meets the requirements of the NOP as well. Please continue to submit a copy of your certification as an organic producer, issued by a USDA-accredited certifying agent, along with each label application that contains organic references.
We hope you will find this information to be helpful. ATF plans to issue more detailed guidelines on organic labeling in the near future. Should you have questions, please feel free to contact Rick Evanchec at (202) 927-8128.
Sincerely yours,
Susan Stewart
Chief, Alcohol Labeling and Formulation Division
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