§ 18B-206. Standards for alcoholic beverages.
§18B‑206. Standards for alcoholic beverages.
(a) Authority to SetStandards. The Commission may set standards and adopt rules for maltbeverages, unfortified wine, fortified wine, and spirituous liquor to protectthe public against beverages containing harmful or impure substances, beveragescontaining an improper balance of substances as determined by the Commission,spurious or imitation beverages, and beverages unfit for human consumption. Insetting standards and in issuing rules relating to them, the Commission mayfollow federal guidelines for standards of identity, labeling and advertisingcontained in Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations, or may adopt morerestrictive standards.
(b) Effective Date ofStandards. A person possessing alcoholic beverages which do not meet a newstandard set by the Commission shall have 60 days after the effective date ofthe standard to sell or otherwise dispose of those alcoholic beverages.
(c) Testing. TheCommission may test malt beverages, unfortified wine, fortified wine, andspirituous liquor possessed or offered for sale in this State to determinewhether they meet the standards set by the Commission. If the Commissionchooses to test an alcoholic beverage, that test may be performed by theCommission, the Commission may arrange for the State Chemist to perform thetesting, or the Commission may have the testing performed in some other manner.The manufacturer of tested alcoholic beverages shall pay the costs of the test.In lieu of testing an alcoholic beverage, the Commission may rely on testing bya federal agency or an agency of another state or may accept test results froma federal agency, an agency of another state, or the manufacturer of thealcoholic beverage or his authorized agent. A manufacturer who submits testresults shall also submit a fee of ten dollars ($10.00) for each test result tocover administrative costs. (1939, c. 158, s. 514; 1943,c. 400, s. 6; 1949, c. 974, s. 14; 1953, c. 1207, ss. 2‑4; 1957, c. 1440;1963, c. 426, ss. 4, 5; 1971, c. 872, s. 1; 1977, c. 70, s. 20.4; 1981, c. 412,s. 2.)