FDA has asked the industry to consider reducing its target levels based on the encouraging results of its urethane-lowering efforts. The distilled spirits industry is also working toward lowering the urethane levels in its products, says Diachenko. The industry set 125 ppb as its target for urethane levels in all new whiskey produced as of Jan. 1, 1989. It's achieving this target by modifying the distillation processes. It's also improving methods for cleaning stills to cut down on the buildup of urethane or other chemicals that might form, and it's monitoring the operation of the stills so that urethane is not carried by distilled vapors into new batches.
Distillers sample daily for urethane in fresh distillate.
The weekly averages for all distillers have been below their target levels. The highest average level in the first quarter of 1992 was 109 ppb, Joe reports. Many distillers have achieved weekly averages below 30 to 40 ppb. ATF does its own sampling as a backup to the data FDA receives from industry. Although industry has been sampling products since 1987, the lower urethane levels may not show up this year in some brands of distilled spirits because distillates are usually aged four to eight years before marketing, says Canas.