Canada amends its vodka standard to enhance economic competitiveness, facilitate trade, and create more choice for consumers

Jun 26, 2019

Ottawa, ON – Canadian Food Inspection Agency - Canada's vodka compositional standard has been updated to allow the country's growing spirits industry to be more innovative, provide more choice for consumers, and enhance trade, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced today.

Canadian distillers can now use agricultural ingredients other than potatoes and cereal grain to produce vodka. Allowing the use of new ingredients such as honey, apple, or dairy in vodka production gives consumers more choice and better aligns Canada with international standards, increasing innovation and competitiveness.

To help consumers make informed choices, vodka produced from ingredients other than just potatoes or cereal grain must be labelled accordingly using the statement "Produced from."

Vodka will remain a neutral alcoholic beverage, meaning it is without distinctive character, aroma, or taste, but the revised standard allows distillers to achieve this outcome by using material or processes other than just charcoal. The only filtration process permitted for vodka under the previous regulations was through charcoal.

The changes to the vodka standard follow the Government of Canada's announcement in November 2018 on federal actions to enhance competitiveness and facilitate trade. The revised standard means fewer barriers to trade between provinces and territories, and enhances international trade since the revised standard better aligns with the vodka standard of key trading partners, like the U.S. and European Union which allow vodka to be produced from a wide range of materials.

This is another example of the Government of Canada's work to reform Canada's regulatory system to make it more agile, transparent, and responsive so that businesses can grow, resulting in benefits for all Canadians.

The new regulatory requirements come into force immediately. However, Canadian distillers have until December 13, 2022 to follow the new rules and make any applicable labelling changes.

Source : Government of Canada

Video: Sweetener Effects on Gut Health - Dr. Kwangwook Kim

In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Kwangwook Kim, Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, discusses the use of non-nutritive sweeteners in nursery pig diets. He explains how sucralose and neotame influence feed intake, gut health, metabolism, and the frequency of diarrhea compared to antibiotics. The conversation highlights mechanisms beyond palatability, including hormone signaling and nutrient transport. Listen now on all major platforms!

“Receptors responsible for sweet taste are present not only in the mouth but also along the intestinal tract.”

Meet the guest: Dr. Kwangwook Kim / kwangwook-kim is an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, specializing in swine nutrition and feed additives under disease challenge models. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in Animal Sciences from the University of California, Davis, where he focused on intestinal health and metabolic responses in pigs. His research evaluates alternatives to antibiotics, targeting gut health and performance in nursery pigs.