The U.S. Treasury Department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has issued a final rule amending the standards for cognac and pisco, a type of brandy manufactured in Peru and Chile. According to TTB, the final rule honors an international agreement with Peru and Chile recognizing pisco as a distinctive product of those countries in exchange for the recognition of Bourbon Whiskey and Tennessee Whiskey as distinctive products of the United States. The final rule clarifies that pisco is “a type of brandy that must be manufactured in accordance with the laws and regulations of either Peru or Chile” and removes “Pisco brandy” from the list of examples of geographic designations in the distilled spirits standard of identity. Under the new rules, qualifying products can now bear the name “Pisco” or any of its equivalents—“Pisco Perú,” “Pisco Chileno” or “Chilean Pisco” without needing to add the term “brandy”…
Category Archives Issue 484
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has issued guidance to industry on the “Use of Social Media in the Advertising of Alcohol Beverages.” According to the May 13, 2013, circular, TTB considers that the advertising provisions of the Federal Alcohol Administration Act (FAA Act) apply to all advertisements “including social media.” The guidance aims to provide “a basis for voluntary compliance with the FAA Act and the TTB advertising regulations with regard to social media, both in terms of required mandatory statements and prohibited practices or statements.” TTB defines social media outlets as social network services, video sharing sites, blogs, microblogs, forums or comment sections on websites, apps for mobile devices, and links and quick response codes. Applicable to advertisements for wine, distilled spirits and malt beverages, the requirements include posting a responsible advertiser name and address and avoiding prohibited statements, including false health…
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reportedly sent letters to more than 90 businesses in an effort to educate them about updates to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) that take effect July 1, 2013. According to a May 15, 2013, FTC press release, the agency sent separate letters to both domestic and foreign companies “that may be collecting images or sounds of children” as well as those “that may be collecting persistent identifiers from children.” The letters explain to recipients that under the new rules, personal information now includes (i) “a photograph or video with a child’s image, or an audio file that has a child’s voice,” and (ii) “persistent identifiers, such as cookies, IP addresses and mobile device IDs, that can recognize users over time and across different websites or online services.” “Companies whose apps collect, store or transmit this information, as well as other personal information…
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