Mexican Chamber of the Tequila Industry (CNIT)

Positioning on the use of the alleged “additive-free” attribute for the Tequila Designation of Origin

In fulfillment of the mandate that the Chamber of the Tequila Industry has from its associates and in accordance with the applicable legal framework, as well as in strict adherence to its bylaws, all of which oblige it to carry out each and every one of the actions aimed at the defense and promotion of the Tequila Designation of Origin, property of the Mexican State, this Chamber hereby expresses its position on the use—explicit or implicit—of the alleged “additive-free” attribute for products with the Tequila Designation of Origin.

1) Tequila, internationally recognized as a Designation of Origin, must follow the rules established by Mexican regulations to be considered as such.
2) For these purposes, compliance can be grouped into:
a. Observance of the Official Mexican Standard NOM-006-SCFI-2012, Alcoholic Beverages, Tequila-Specifications (hereinafter, NOM 006), which not only establishes the technical and legal requirements that Tequila must meet but also re-adopts and describes the traditional production processes that are part of the cultural heritage linked to this beverage; and
b. Compliance with and respect for the conformity assessment procedure of said Standard, carried out by the Tequila Regulatory Council, a non-profit institution responsible for evaluating compliance with the aforementioned NOM.
3) NOM 006 allows for the existence of a certain level of mellowing agents or additive agents in Tequila, taking into consideration both those that can be added in the beverage production process and those that naturally appear during the Tequila production and maturation process.
4) These agents are contemplated not only in Mexican regulations but also in applicable international food and beverage standards such as the Codex Alimentarius, and they do not cause health harm (as they meet high international standards), being used worldwide for products of human consumption, which in no way compromise or affect the presentation, quality, or organoleptic profile of Tequila and other alcoholic beverages and food products. There are currently more than three thousand authorized additive agents in the applicable regulations.
5) In the current state of science, there is no testing method that can accurately determine the absence of each and every one of those three thousand additive agents that exist in national and international regulatory bodies.
For all the above, the Chamber of the Tequila Industry expresses its position regarding any direct or indirect form of communication of the “additive-free” claim as an alleged benefit of Tequila, because:
A. It has not been scientifically proven that a product with this characteristic exists, as it is materially impossible to prove the non-existence of three thousand additive agents in a product, since a test would have to be performed for each existing additive agent in each production batch to demonstrate their total absence.
B. This type of declarative claim, without proper scientific support (which, as has been said, is practically impossible to prove), is a circumstance that would not imply that the product and the brand that boasts it have an advantage or additional attribute over other tequilas. Tequila is what is established in NOM 006, which was developed based on the tradition of making Tequila. Nothing more and nothing less.
C. It is completely false that a Tequila supposedly free of additive agents is of higher quality or in any way better than others, as has been incorrectly stated publicly. A Tequila that is produced in compliance with NOM 006 and is certified by the Tequila Regulatory Council has the same quality as any other that meets these same criteria.

Finally, and as a summary of all the above, from the Chamber of the Tequila Industry we view with deep concern the appearance of communications from brands that attempt to create a false conviction in consumers of Tequila about alleged competitive advantages that, in addition to being practically impossible to prove, lack a scientific basis to support a special attribute or a verifiable improvement.