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CRT sues Additive Free Alliance
The regulatory body for Tequila has filed a lawsuit against the Additive Free Alliance (AFA) for allegedly misleading consumers by running an ‘unauthorised’ certification programme.
The Consejo Regulador del Tequila (CRT) has filed a lawsuit against the AFA and S2F Online, in the US District Court for the Middle District of Florida’s Jacksonsville Division.
Describing itself as the sole certifier of Tequila and the agency responsible for approving the category’s labels, the CRT claims that the AFA is representing itself as a certifier of Tequila and ‘misleading the public’ by confirming that brands are additive free.
The CRT alleges that the AFA’s actions cause ‘confusion in the marketplace’ and are harmful to the Tequila sector.
The lawsuit has been filed to stop the AFA certifying brands as ‘additive free’ and to prevent the organisation from infringing on the CRT’s Tequila trademark.
Founded by Tequila website and app Tequila Matchmaker in 2020, the AFA was relaunched an independent entity in August 2024 after filing for non-profit 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The non-profit organisation was founded by Grover Sanschagrin, who created Tequila Matchmaker. The AFA conducts an independent verification of Tequila brands through laboratory and sensory evaluations to see if they contain additives.
The AFA previously published a list of the brands that had met its requirements to be labelled ‘additive free’, however this was removed from the website in October.
The lawsuit said the AFA’s verification programme “allegedly involved representatives from AFA touring and ‘inspecting’ distilleries, testing Tequila samples, inspecting log books and receipts that show purchase of supplies, and ‘authorisation to view CRT records’, and ‘access to official CRT lab chemical analysis reports'”.
Run by Sanschagrin, S2F owns and operates several websites, mobile apps and social media pages dedicated to Tequila, including Tequila Matchmaker.
The lawsuit noted that the AFA’s verification scheme is an ‘unauthorised certification programme for Tequila’ and that the organisation does not have a license from CRT to use its Tequila trademark for the programme.
However, the AFA does not use the word ‘certify’ with regard to its activities. Every brand and distillery must agree to the AFA’s terms via a checkbox on the website’s intake form that says ‘this is not a certification’.
Additive-free term ‘violates NOM’
The CRT was created in 1994 as the official body responsible for ensuring that all Tequila production complies with the strict standards established in the Norma Oficial Mexicana (NOM), otherwise known as the Official Mexican Standard.
In August 2024, the CRT and Mexico’s federal consumer protection agency, PROFECO, issued a statement that said the “certification of the term ‘additive free’ would cause confusion among consumers and regulated parties and in the conformity assessment activities” and “the use of the phrase ‘additive free’ as part of the commercial information displayed on the labelling of ‘Tequila’, must be previously verified and not mislead regarding the characteristics and nature of such alcoholic beverage”.
As such, PROFECO stated that the term ‘additive free’ misleads and confuses consumers due to its inaccuracy, and is in violation of the Tequila NOM. The CRT issued a notice on 12 August to urge the industry to avoid the use of the phrase.
The NOM permits Tequila producers to use up to 1% of additives (also known as abocantes) in production, but this does not have to be disclosed on the label.
Four types of abocantes are permitted: glycerin, caramel colouring, oak extract, and jarabe or sugar-based syrup.
In the lawsuit, the CRT argues that because abocantes can ‘naturally’ occur during the Tequila-making process, that there is “no scientific way” to certify a Tequila as additive free, making it a “misleading health statement”.
The Spirits Business has approached the AFA and CRT for comment.
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