Great post over at WineAmerica detailing the new FDA regulations, specifically highlight that most of the new food safety rules will not apply to wineries. This is a big relief and helps with the regulatory uncertainty that comes from this type of legislation. We’ve been keeping our eye on this issue for a while now (see our post Here Comes the FDA) and we’ll continue to monitor to make sure we are there to help our customers.
FDA’s new proposed produce handling requirements, likewise only covers fruit and vegetables grown for raw consumption. Produce that is not sold as a raw agricultural commodity is specifically exempted from the new standards. This means that wineries will be completely free from the new handling requirements, assuming they don’t sell grapes for the fresh market, since wine is considered “processed” under FDA rubric.- http://wineamerica.blogspot.com/2013/01/new-food-safety-proposals-will-not.html
Source: WineAmerica