Current Cider
Standards

Lack of a Clear Definition or a
Worldwide Common Standard for Ciders

Contrary to the wine, spirits or beer category, there is currently no established clear understanding or definition of what a cider should actually contain. There are also several cider brands currently sold on the market that are categorized as ciders but since they barely content any apple juice, should really not be sold as ciders. The result has been a fair bit of confusion amongst consumers of what exactly is a cider as well as what to expect from the cider category.

There is also considerable frustration on the part of cider producers that make genuine ciders from real apple juice of having to compete head-to-head with pseudo ciders made with no apple juice. With a few exceptions, there is also no credible institution or regional governing body overseeing cider standards.

Cider Samples on a Wooden Serving Board

Lack of Proper Labeling Regulations

In most countries, the closest to a standard one will find in the cider category is related to the minimum juice content allowed, which varies widely from one country to the next as seen in the table below.

Country

Minimum Juice
Content

Sweden

15%

United Kingdom

35%

France

50%

USA

50%

Canada

varies by province

Bottles of Cider

Critical Element Missing – Method of Production

Having minimum juice content is a good start, however, it is not enough on its own. A cider standard should also include the cider production method. Otherwise, it equates to having a drinking water standard that would include water as the standard but leave out the allowed purification method. Would people really want to drink water in a country where there is no standards on the water purification method allowed?

Examples of well-established standards for other types of beverages include:

  • Wine making – the use of grape concentrate to make wines is prohibited by all regional certification bodies.
  • Apple juice – a juice made from apple concentrate must be labeled as made from apple concentrate.
  • Reconstituted milk – the practice of combining dry whole milk solids with the appropriate amount of water – is allowed but must be labeled as such.

Lack of Proper Labeling Regulations

Another important challenge with ciders is the weak labeling regulations that have not kept pace with the changes in the cider category. In many countries, there are no requirements to write the ingredients on the back label such as the actual amount of real apple juice used, water amount, type and quantity of sweetener, etc.

There are also no regulations requiring producers to include the country of origin for the main ingredients used. It would certainly make sense that a Canadian, Australian, or UK cider principally made from apple concentrate that was produced in China, Poland or Chile include the country of origin of that apple concentrate.

In many locations, the loose use of terms such as “100% local apples” on the front label is also allowed even though at times the cider can be up to 50 to 65% water content. This leaves little room for the local apples and is obviously grossly misleading.

Some Canadian provinces also do not have regulations requiring full disclosure of the place of production of the cider except for the name of the city. This allows “briefcase cideries” and large beverage companies to hide the true ownership of a given brand so they can misrepresent their product as a local cider or craft cider.

Cider Standards and Regulations in Quebec

Although most countries have not set up standards and regulations for the cider category, the province of Quebec in Canada is a notable exception.

Quebec has by far the best established standards for the cider category that we have encountered. The category currently contains 15 different types of ciders and other apple based fermented products segmented based on real apple juice content as well as the method of production. Further details can be found on the following government site.

Légis Quebec

They are certainly a great example for other government bodies around the world.

Cider Bottle and Apple