Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco

A Special agency now called the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF) within the U.S. Treasury Department was empowered to regulate the alcohoHc beverage industries. Although less adversarial, but strictly enforced even today (ca 1997), the regulations and their appHcation remain voluminous and detailed. They specify not only label compliance and matters relating to taxation that are of direct interest to consumers, but contain all the details of permitted processes for and additions to wines. 

Cla.ssifica.tlon, In commerce, several classifications of flavoring and compounded flavorings are Hsted according to composition to allow the user to conform to state and federal food regulations and labeling requirements, as well as to show their proper appHcation. Both suppHer and purchaser are subject to the control of the FDA, USD A, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF). The latter regulates the alcohoHc content of flavors and the tax drawbacks on alcohol, ie, return of a portion of the tax paid on ethyl alcohol used in flavoring. 

Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, MnnualEeport, Mlcoholand Tobacco Summay, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 

Independent of these centers, the FDA also has overlapping jurisdiction with several other federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms the Federal Trade Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency. 

Both sorbic acid and potassium sorbate may be used under U.S. Department of Treasury, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms regulations as sterilizing and preservative agents for treatment of wine and juice at up to 300 ppm/L (158). 

In the United States, the Alcohol Tax Unit came into being with the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, and it became the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax division of the Internal Revenue Service in 1952. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), established in 1972, and the Department of the Treasury closely regulate the manufacture of distilled spirits. 

Because of the economic interest in distilled spidts, each country has estabHshed standards for their vadous types of distilled beverages, and countdes mutually respect each other s alcohoHc beverage standards. U.S. Standards of Identity are given by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) (2). 

Distilled spirits are governed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms regulations. Every botde of distilled spirits must contain a specified percent of alcohol or proof as stated on the label. Proof is the ethyl alcohol content of a Hquid at 15.6°C, stated as twice the percent of ethyl alcohol by volume. 

Packaging for distilled spirits intended for domestic distribution is regulated by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF). This strict supervision estabhshes acceptable container size, labeling, and sealing requirements, as well as the disclosure of information on the shipping container. Furthermore, local and state distilled spirits labeling and packaging requirements must also be met. 

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms PubHcation, Title 27, Code of Federal Regulations, Subpart C, Washington, D.C., 1991. 

Denatured Ethanol. Eor hundreds of years alcohoHc beverages have been taxed all over the world to generate government revenue. When ethanol emerged as a key industrial raw material, the alcohol tax was recognized as a burden to many essential manufacturing industries. To lift this burden, the Tax-Eree Industrial and Denatured Alcohol Act of 1906 was passed in the United States. The U.S. Treasury, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATE), now oversees the production, procurement, and use of ethanol in the United States. 

When used in products not licensed for drinking, ethanol usually occurs in the form of denatured alcohol, or specially denatured alcohol—alcohol that has been rendered unfit for drinking. You will often see SD alcohol mentioned on a label, sometimes followed by a number and letter, such as 40-B. This is the designation given by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms to the denaturing method used. For example, SD-40 is ethanol denatured by adding tiny amounts of the most bitter-tasting substance known denatonium benzoate. 

Industrial ethyl alcohol Industrial ethyl alcohol that is reclaimed is exempt from RCRA Subtitle C because the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF) already regulates it from the point of generation to redistillation. 

Not surprisingly, there are important government sites that have useful information for gun issues research. The Treasury s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (http //www.atf.treas.gov) is the source for official federal gun regulations and their interpretation. The FBI (http //www. fbi.gov) is responsible for tracing guns involved in crime, and it gathers many statistics about gun use. And because the gun issue is so closely connected with crime trends, the Department of Justice s Bureau of Justice Statistics home page at http //www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/ is another very important resource, as is its annual compilation Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics (available at http //www.albany.edu/ sourcebook/). Note that the bureau site also has a set of links to other crime-statistics sites. 

Vizzard, William J. Shots in the Dark. Lanham, Md. Rowman Littlefield, 2000. A former agent for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms examines the back ound for gun control issues and surveys the key developments in gun control legislation starting with New York s Sullivan Law in 1911. Fie concludes with modest proposals for strengthening gun laws, believing that more radical measures would not be politically feasible. 

Magaw, John W., ed. Federal Firearms Regulations Reference Guide. Colling-dale, Penn. Diane Publications, 2000. A compilation of federal firearms laws, administrative rulings, and information from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Eirearms. 

In recent years, pen guns and small pistols carrying CN cartridges have become popular as personal defense weapons. Injuries have resulted from their careless use. As of June 1, 1975, pen guns were classified as firearms and placed under the controls and restrictions of the Gun Control Act of 1968 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, Department of the Treasury. 

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