In 1977, the tequila denomination of origin was recorded in the world
organization of industrial property, which gave international recognition
to Tequila, similar to Cognac and Champagne.
In 1994, Chamber members pushed for the creation of a non-
governmental organization whose specific mission is to verify
compliance of its members with the Official Mexican Standard for
Tequila (otherwise called the NOM or Norma Official Mexicana).
The result was the formation of a not for profit organization called
Tequila Regulatory Council (Consejo Regulador de Tequila, or CRT).
The Mexican General Bureau of Standards (DGN) of the Secretary of the
Economy accredits the CRT as a Verification Unit and as a Certification
Organization.
The CRT has five different departments: verification, certification,
agricultural, quality control and administrative. The CRT employs a
team of highly trained professionals who consistently conduct on-site
inspections to verify each step of the production of tequila according to
the NOM. These representatives are rotated every three months and are in
the fields and or distilleries every day to monitor and record.
The CRT maintains these rules and can take legal action against violators.
The CRT works with the tequila producers, agave growers, bottlers,
marketers (who are members of the CNIT).
In 1999, the CRT began certifying producers under the ISO 9002
standards.
The CRT is constantly monitoring and pursuing False Tequilas that are rarely made from blue agave (some may merely be flavored with agave syrup or an artificial 'tequila' essence), and none are subject to the strict controls in place on Mexican tequilas.
Many appear on our wholesale and retail bottle shop shelves. There are a number of false tequilas being produced regularly here and are believed to come from rural Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. One found recently openly displayed that it was “made from the finest Mexican and Australian ingredients and distilled and bottled in Australia.
These False tequilas already look suspicious by their labels and contain none of the information required by law to meet the standards of tequila (see images).
One brand “Sonoro Tequila” was available in 20 liter containers as well as 700ml bottles, retailed at about $18 and proved to be high in methanol, these tequilas are priced usually a few dollars cheaper than genuine tequila but incurred none of the costs related to compliance, duty and shipping making them hugely profitable for the producers and grossly over priced for the consumer, not to mention the hangovers they produce.
Watch for what you buy!
