Prêtes à boire, mixers, énergisantes, fonctionnelles - toutes les règles boissons couvertes
Les boissons ont leur propre échelle RACC (§ 101.12 Table 2) et des conventions d'arrondi différentes. La déclaration du sucre déclenche des avertissements différents selon les marchés.
RACC boissons + conventions de portions
L'eau et les boissons prêtes à boire utilisent par défaut une portion de 240 mL / 8 fl oz. Les concentrés utilisent 30 mL. Les shots énergétiques ont la leur. Nous choisissons la RACC automatiquement dans la table de la FDA.
Seuils FOP spécifiques aux boissons
L'octogone sucre du Mexique se déclenche à ≥ 5 % d'énergie pour les boissons (contre 10 % pour les solides). Le « ALTO EN AZÚCARES » du Chili se déclenche à 5 g/100 mL. Nous appliquons l'échelle propre aux boissons pour chaque marché avec FOP.
Divulgations caféine + édulcorants
Les rectangles de la Ley 27.642 argentine « CONTIENE CAFEÍNA » et « CONTIENE EDULCORANTES » se déclenchent quand ils s'appliquent. Divulgations similaires en Équateur, au Pérou et en Uruguay.
Gestion multi-parfums
10 parfums de la même base ? Enregistrez la base, dupliquez et ajustez l'essence aromatique, générez 10 étiquettes. Les listes d'ingrédients s'ajustent automatiquement par référence.
If it contains juice, you owe a percentage declaration
A beverage that purports to contain juice - by name, by image, or by implication - has to declare its percentage juice content under 21 CFR § 101.30. This catches more products than people expect, because the trigger is what the package suggests rather than what the formula contains.
A sparkling water with a lime on the front and no juice in the bottle raises the question. A "berry" flavoured drink with two percent juice has to say two percent. The declaration sits near the top of the information panel, and it is a common finding in warning letters precisely because brands treat the fruit imagery as marketing rather than as a claim.
Is your energy drink a beverage or a supplement?
This is the single biggest fork in beverage labeling, and brands sometimes pick a side without realising they have.
A product marketed as a conventional beverage carries a Nutrition Facts panel under § 101.9, uses food additives that are permitted for that use, and cannot carry structure/function claims freely. A product marketed as a liquid dietary supplement carries a Supplement Facts panel under § 101.36, operates under DSHEA, and takes the structure/function disclaimer.
What decides it is not the format of the container. The FDA looks at how the product is represented - its name, its labeling, its marketing, the serving size, the packaging format, and whether it is positioned as something you drink for refreshment or take for an effect. A 16 oz can sold in the chiller next to soft drinks reads as a beverage no matter what the panel says.
Getting this wrong means the wrong panel, potentially the wrong permitted ingredients, and claims you are not entitled to make. It is worth deciding deliberately, early, and documenting the reasoning.
If there is alcohol in it, the FDA may not be your regulator
Most alcoholic beverage labeling falls to the TTB - the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau - under the Federal Alcohol Administration Act, not to the FDA. That covers distilled spirits, wine above the statutory threshold, and malt beverages made from malted barley and hops.
But the split is not clean, and the exceptions are exactly where the modern drinks market lives. Certain low-alcohol wines, ciders below the threshold, and beers brewed without malted barley or without hops can fall outside TTB's remit and back under the FDA - which means a Nutrition Facts panel and FDA ingredient labeling rather than TTB requirements.
Hard seltzers, sake-based products, and gluten-free beers made from sorghum or rice are the usual candidates for this confusion. If you are anywhere near that boundary, confirm which agency governs your product before you commission artwork, because the two regimes want genuinely different labels.