18B-206. Standards for alcoholic beverages.

(a) Authority to Set Standards. - The Commission may set standards and adopt rules for malt beverages, unfortified wine, fortified wine, and spirituous liquor to protect the public against beverages containing harmful or impure substances, beverages containing an improper balance of substances as determined by the Commission, spurious or imitation beverages, and beverages unfit for human consumption. In setting standards and in issuing rules relating to them, the Commission may follow federal guidelines for standards of identity, labeling and advertising contained in Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations, or may adopt more restrictive standards.

(b) Effective Date of Standards. - A person possessing alcoholic beverages which do not meet a new standard set by the Commission shall have 60 days after the effective date of the standard to sell or otherwise dispose of those alcoholic beverages.

(c) Testing. - The Commission may test malt beverages, unfortified wine, fortified wine, and spirituous liquor possessed or offered for sale in this State to determine whether they meet the standards set by the Commission. If the Commission chooses to test an alcoholic beverage, that test may be performed by the Commission, the Commission may arrange for the State Chemist to perform the testing, 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 by a federal agency or an agency of another state or may accept test results from a federal agency, an agency of another state, or the manufacturer of the alcoholic beverage or his authorized agent. A manufacturer who submits test results shall also submit a fee of ten dollars ($10.00) for each test result to cover administrative costs.