# Do imported beers have to comply to quality and safety standards? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 8, 2013, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-imported-beers-have-to-comply-to-quality-and-safety-standards/662915 "2013-07-08T04:37:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mithras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mithras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithras)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-imported-beers-have-to-comply-to-quality-and-safety-standards/662915/41 "2013-07-11T19:25:29Z")
> [@tuna](#): > > I also learned that all beer imported to america is pasteurized. With american domestic beers, bottles and cans are always pasteurized but kegs of American domestic beer are usually not pasteurized, which is the reason that many people prefer the taste of beer out of the tap. For imported beer, it is all pasteurized whether in a bottle, can, or keg. While the gigantic breweries all pasteurize, there are many American beers that are bottled unpasteurized. Everything Bell’s makes, for example. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-imported-beers-have-to-comply-to-quality-and-safety-standards/662915/42 "2013-07-12T10:21:50Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > What law says that? [This one.](http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2010-title27-vol1/pdf/CFR-2010-title27-vol1-sec7-24.pdf) (PDF) > [@](#): > > (d) Products containing less than > one-half of 1 percent (.5%) of alcohol by > volume shall bear the class designation > ‘‘malt beverage,’’ or ‘‘cereal beverage,’’ > or ‘‘near beer.’’ If the designation > ‘‘near beer’’ is used, both words must > appear in the same size and style of > type, in the same color of ink, and on > the same background. No product containing less than one-half of 1 percent > of alcohol by volume shall bear the > class designations ‘‘beer’’, ‘‘lager > beer’’, ‘‘lager’’, ‘‘ale’’, ‘‘porter’’, or > ‘‘stout’’, or any other class or type designation commonly applied to malt > beverages containing one-half of 1 percent or more of alcohol by volume. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-imported-beers-have-to-comply-to-quality-and-safety-standards/662915/43 "2013-07-12T16:23:02Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#): > > [This one.](http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2010-title27-vol1/pdf/CFR-2010-title27-vol1-sec7-24.pdf) (PDF) Why would that come from the GPO and not the FDA?😕 ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-imported-beers-have-to-comply-to-quality-and-safety-standards/662915/44 "2013-07-12T16:33:43Z")
In previous centuries, the Government Printing Office was the organization that printed (on actual paper) laws and records for the federal government. Today they do so electronically. “GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys) provides free online access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government.” ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-imported-beers-have-to-comply-to-quality-and-safety-standards/662915/45 "2013-07-12T16:41:28Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > No now they’re not. But up until about the late 80’s if you wanted beer in glass you ended up hauling bottles back to the store. 5Cents per. At least one US state (Massachusetts, where I live) still charges you a 5¢ bottle deposit for each glass beer bottle that you buy; so you pay 30¢ extra for each six-pack. (The deposit also applies to aluminum cans and plastic soda bottles.) You can get your money back by returning the bottles to the store. I’m not sure what’s done with them from there, though. ETA: Here’s [info about the states that have bottle deposit laws.](http://www.bottlebill.org/legislation/usa.htm) All of those states’ laws include beer bottles. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-imported-beers-have-to-comply-to-quality-and-safety-standards/662915/46 "2013-07-12T17:49:15Z")
> [@11811](#): > > I’m pretty sure if you compared refillable and non-refillable bottles you’d see the refillable ones have thicker walls and bottoms. They’re also noticeably heavier than single-use bottles. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-imported-beers-have-to-comply-to-quality-and-safety-standards/662915/47 "2013-07-12T23:15:41Z")
> [@MikeS](#): > > At least one US state (Massachusetts, where I live) still charges you a 5¢ bottle deposit for each glass beer bottle that you buy; so you pay 30¢ extra for each six-pack. (The deposit also applies to aluminum cans and plastic soda bottles.) You can get your money back by returning the bottles to the store. I’m not sure what’s done with them from there, though. > > ETA: Here’s [info about the states that have bottle deposit laws.](http://www.bottlebill.org/legislation/usa.htm) All of those states’ laws include beer bottles. This is actually different than what I was talking about. This has to do recycling. For many, many years soda came in 8 pack 16 ounce glass bottles and beer in 24 pack glass bottles. Grocery stores had bins in the front entrance of the store and you had to haul back the empties. It was a pain, especially the beer cases. The bottles were cleaned/refilled at the bottling plants. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-imported-beers-have-to-comply-to-quality-and-safety-standards/662915.md?page=2)