Greetings! We hope you are having a wholesome and marvelous week! This edition includes our proposed establishment of two new viticultural areas in Lake County, California, a look at our Bring-Your-Own-Device policy, and information about an FDA notice that impacts US wineries, distilleries and breweries. |
In the TTB Newsletter, we compile the top TTB news of the week and other helpful information about the Bureau and the Federal alcohol and tobacco laws and regulations we enforce. Please send any questions or comments to the Executive Liaison for Industry Matters at IndustryLiaison@ttb.gov and/or StateLiaison@ttb.gov. TTB Newsletter Archives | ![Need BIG Text?]() |
TTB Proposes Establishment of Two New Viticultural Areas in Lake County, CaliforniaWe published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register on Friday, April 5, 2013 proposing to establish the 11,000-acre "Big Valley District-Lake County" and the 9,100- acre "Kelsey Bench-Lake County" American viticultural areas (AVA), both in Lake County, California. The notice also proposes to modify the boundary of the existing 31,250-acre "Red Hills Lake County" AVA, increasing its size by 7 acres, in order to align its border with that of the proposed Kelsey Bench-Lake County AVA. The two proposed AVAs and the one existing AVA are entirely within the existing Clear Lake AVA, which, in turn, is within the larger, multicounty North Coast AVA.We are making this proposal in response to petitions filed on behalf of local vintners and grape growers. We designate viticultural areas to allow vintners to better describe the origin of their wines and to allow consumers to better identify wines they may purchase. You may submit comments on this proposal and view copies of the proposed rule, selected supporting materials, and any comments we receive about this proposal at the Regulations.gov within Docket No. TTB-2013-0003. Comments on this proposal must be received on or before June 4, 2013. TTB Delivers Improved Services with Bring-Your-Own-Device PolicyIn response to the Digital Government Strategy (PDF/ HTML5)- part of thePresident's directive to build a 21st Century Government that delivers better services to the American people - we at TTB took a closer look at how to increase the mobility of our staff, save taxpayer dollars, and improve our services. One of our solutions was to implement a Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) policy. Within our first ten years as a bureau, we transformed the way our personnel accessed information technology (IT) resources to a virtual desktop. Our BYOD policy allows employees to access to the network anywhere at any time. This virtual environment has not only saved the government over a million dollars in equipment, travel, and labor costs, it allows our employees to work smarter and provide better service to the public. Our BYOD policy was recognized by the Digital Services Advisory Group and Federal Chief Information Officers Council as a successful BYOD program launched at a "forward-leaning agency," and was highlighted in the group'sToolkit to Support Federal Agencies Implementing Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Programs (08/23/12). The toolkit presents government–wide BYOD guidance based on lessons learned from successful pilots at federal agencies and cites examples of agencies working to open up services so they are available "anywhere, anytime, on any device." Read the full story FDA Seeks Comments on Draft Compliance Policy Guide Regarding Food Facility Registration The Food and Drug Administration recently published anoticein the Federal Register seeking public comments on its Draft Compliance Policy Guide, Section 100.250 Food Facility Registration - Human and Animal Food. The compliance policy guide will, when finalized, provide guidance to the FDA staff on issues related to food facility registration under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, including the requirement for biennial registration and the FDA’s authority to suspend registrations. "Food facility" as defined under that Act includes facilities that produce alcohol beverage products. While comments may be submitted at any time, the FDA is seeking comments on this draft guide by May 6, 2013. Seethe FDA's April 4, 2013 Federal Register notice for information about how and where to submit comments. The draft compliance guide is available on the FDA website. |
