The amended Food and Drug Regulations (Beer): SOR/2019-98 published in April 2019, made updates to the beer standard that included changes to labelling declarations and compositional standards. The transition period of over three years has ended; all beer products must now meet the requirements of the amended regulations.
A key compositional change requires beer to contain no more than 4% of residual sugars (or 40 grams of residual sugars per litre). Residual sugars are sugars that are still present in beer after the fermentation process has been completed. This provides an objective measurement to distinguish beer from malt-based beverage products (e.g. coolers).
Effective immediately, the LCBO will include sugars analysis in the standard panel of beer testing. Suppliers wishing to validate the sugar content of their beers are encouraged to pursue an independent analysis; see details of this service at Analytical Testing Services | Doing Business with LCBO.
Please share this information with your members and ensure that your products are complaint with the new standards. Inquiries about the regulations, Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) or Health Canada requirements should be directed to CFIA via their website.
Any other inquiries, including those related to product testing, may be directed to the LCBO’s Quality Assurance department at quality.assurance@lcbo.com or (416) 864-6724.