Health Effects & Wine: The FDA Should Regulate the Health Effects on Wine Labels

Abstract

In 1976, the District Court of the Western District of Kentucky, in Brown-Forman Distillers Corp. v. Matthews, found that alcoholic beverages were exempt from the Food & Drug Administration labeling requirements. Since then the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms has had exclusive jurisdiction over the labeling of alcoholic beverages. As a result of the recent findings on the health effects of alcoholic beverages, in particular wine, it is necessary to revisit that 1976 decision. The FDA currently allows health claims to appear on the labels of food as long as there is significant scientific agreement on the evidence to support the claim. These standards establish a workable rule to allow health claims to appear on food and drink. These guidelines should be expanded to cover wine labels.