There’s a great new trend happening globally, and it’s all about baking with craft beer. Beer adds moisture, but also provides depth to the flavors in both sweet and savory baked goods. The flavors in beer range from malt and barley to dried fruits and citrus, and adding it to baked goods can provide a unique flavor experience. AIB International’s Labeling Services recently had a customer submit a question about how to label the ingredients of beer on their food label:
We make hamburger rolls and are working on one made with a stout ale. The supplier won't give us an ingredient list, but emailed us this statement: The ingredient list is made up of various types of malted barley and wheat plus oats and hops. We do adjust the water in the brewing process by adding various salts and acids including Ca(OH)4, CaCl, NaCl, MgSO4 and citric acid to reach the mineral content and pH that we desire. Do I list all of this in our ingredient list?
Beer that meets the identity standard for “malt beverage” is regulated under the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) and is not required to have a list of ingredients on the product label. Since it isn’t necessary to disclose this information to consumers, some beer manufacturers are reluctant to provide an ingredient list to manufacturers when the beer is being used in a food. For these products, the FDA has not insisted that the sub-ingredients of the beer be declared on labels under FDA jurisdiction. However, allergen declaration is required if these ingredients contain a major food allergen as identified under the FD&C Act.
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