Alcohol Beverage Sampling Program

About the Program

Our Bureau's mission to protect the public includes ensuring that labels on alcohol beverages contain adequate descriptive information and are not likely to mislead consumers. Established in 2008, TTB's Alcohol Beverage Sampling Program (ABSP) is a random survey of products in the marketplace to evaluate our success in meeting this mission and to determine where compliance issues exist.

Each year we conduct the ABSP by purchasing products from the marketplace and bringing them to our offices for label assessments to determine if products are in compliance with our labeling regulations. Following the label assessments, we send the products to our laboratories to undergo a series of analyses to determine compliance with certain information displayed on the product labels.

ABSP Results by Year

For more information on the specific non-compliances we found each year, you can access the results below.

2016 Sampling Program Results - Distilled Spirits, Malt Beverages, Wine
2015 Sampling Program Results - Distilled Spirits, Malt Beverages, Wine
2014 Sampling Program Results - Distilled Spirits, Malt Beverages, Wine
2013 Sampling Program Results - Distilled Spirits, Malt Beverages, Wine
2012 Sampling Program Results - Distilled Spirits, Malt Beverages, Wine
2011 Sampling Program Results - Distilled Spirits, Malt Beverages, Wine
2010 Sampling Program Results - Wine
2009 Sampling Program Results - Malt Beverages
2008 Sampling Program Results - Distilled Spirits

Follow-Up

Using the results of the ABSP, we take several types of actions to address compliance problems. In most cases, we notify the industry member about the violation and work with them to bring the product into compliance. If there are more serious violations, we coordinate other enforcement actions that may include investigations.

We may also use the results to help inform and develop specific courses of action for future policy development, such as updating the regulations, issuing guidance documents, or developing educational outreach programs.

Starting with the 2017 sampling program, we will no longer report the results of our analysis on an annual basis. The program is being revised to include both a random and risk based sample so we can respond better to known issues. The results will be used to help inform decisions on enforcement actions and priorities.