I'm glad to see that in the United States any way, we will be able to read the label and see how much sugar that there is in our rum and other spirits. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) reviewed on July 1, 2014 and issued this statement.
"Truthful, accurate, and non-misleading
numerical statements about the sugar content of a product are permitted on
alcohol beverage labels and in advertisements. Sugar is a type of carbohydrate,
so a sugar content statement is a carbohydrate claim and must be made in
accordance with the guidance set forth for carbohydrate representations in TTB Ruling 2004-1 and TTB Ruling 2013-2.
Accordingly, a truthful, accurate, and non-misleading numerical statement about
the sugar content of a product may appear on a label or in an advertisement if
the label or advertisement also bears either a statement of average analysis in
accordance with TTB Ruling 2004-1 or a
Serving Facts statement in accordance with TTB Ruling 2013-2 and the
serving size on which the sugar content statement is based is consistent with
the applicable serving size under those rulings.
Numerical sugar content claims should
be made in accordance with the guidance set forth in TTB Procedure 2004-1
with regard to carbohydrate content statements. Thus, the number of grams (g)
of sugar in a serving must be expressed to the nearest tenth of a gram, except
that if a serving contains less than 1 gram, the statement "Contains less
than 1 gram (g)" or "less than 1 gram (g)" may be used as an
alternative. If the serving contains less than 0.5 g of sugar, the content may
be expressed as zero (or 0) grams (g).
Last reviewed/updated 07/01/2014
This is good news for those of us that are interested in what we are consuming, and where we are getting the flavors that we are drinking. I know Richard Seale of Foursquare Distillery in Barbados is a very out spoken proponent of the truthful disclosure of the contents of the rum. This should help us see what we are really getting.
