The brewing industry is evolving at a rapid pace. Consumers are thirsty for a selection of beverages beyond beer, and breweries around the world are embracing product diversification.
What was once a category defined by craft innovation and traditional processes is now expanding far beyond traditional beer into seltzers, hard kombucha, ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails, and non-alcoholic (NA) beverages, including NA beer, craft sodas, and functional products.
Category lines are blurring. Food safety risks are expanding. In this article, we will pour out the advantages of certification and take a closer look at the complex food safety risks associated with brewing non-alcoholic beverages.
Key Takeaways
HACCP alone is no longer enough. Retailers, co-packing partners, and private label buyers expect a GFSI-benchmarked certification such as SQF before they will put their name on a brewery's product.
Certification is the gateway to private label. Retailers will not risk their brand on an uncertified facility, so certification decides which breweries get the contract.
Removing alcohol removes a safety barrier. Ethanol is an intrinsic antimicrobial. Non-alcoholic beer needs added controls: pH below 4.0, limited fermentable extract, stabilization such as filtration or pasteurization, and strict hygiene and cold chain.
NA beer on draft carries the highest risk. Kegged NA beer needs more frequent line cleaning and tighter temperature control than alcoholic beer.
Kiwa ASI certifies breweries to the SQF Food Manufacturing Code. Certification is the starting point; the real strength comes from validating and maintaining controls for each beverage category.
Certification Is the New Baseline for Brewery Expansion
For breweries looking to grow, diversify, or compete for new business, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) alone isn't enough. While HACCP remains the baseline food safety approach in breweries, certification is emerging as a key differentiator between breweries that stay ahead of the craft and those that may get left behind, half-drunk on the bar top.
Certification adds the rigor, traceability, and consistency that modern supply chains require, and that major buyers, retailers, and co-packing partners expect. Without certification, many breweries unintentionally limit their growth potential and lock themselves into a single sector of the beverage market.
At Kiwa ASI, we audit brewing operations under SQF Food Sector Category 16 (Brewing) according to the SQF Food Manufacturing Code, and we only certify operations that meet the requirements. After operations achieve and successfully maintain certification, they'll not only have a stronger food safety system; the pathway is cleared for expansion into new beverage categories.
An industry veteran with a deep understanding of market expansion is Dan Voce, VP of Operations at FX Matt Brewing, an SQF-certified brewery and a Kiwa ASI client. With industry experience spanning from baby food to beer, Voce notes that beer is often mistakenly viewed as being outside the traditional food realm, but it shouldn't be.
"Brewery production should operate under the same food manufacturing requirements as all other consumables. As breweries diversify beyond beer, the compliance expectations for food safety remain unchanged and just as rigorous."
— Dan Voce, VP of Operations, FX Matt Brewing
While many breweries come to Kiwa ASI for SQF certification, others come to ASI Training & Consulting, a separate entity, for support through gap analysis, team training, and more. By investing in training, strengthening food safety programs, and pursuing recognized certification, breweries eliminate barriers to growth and unlock new market opportunities. Certification is a competitive advantage that builds trust, expands capabilities, and positions operations for long-term success in a diversified beverage market.
The Pathway to Private Label
Private label production has become a powerful tool for breweries to combat inflation, diversify income, and stabilize revenue. Retailers are placing greater emphasis on selecting supplier partners who can deliver consistent quality, safety, and reliability at scale, and there's typically a universal requirement: certification.[3] Retailers can't risk placing their name on a product produced in an uncertified facility, and because it's their brand on the product, they require higher levels of oversight and assurance such as:
- GFSI-benchmarked certification (such as SQF)
- Robust food safety programs
- Comprehensive documentation and traceability
- cGMP compliance
- Well-developed internal auditing and verification systems
For brewing operations, achieving and maintaining certification creates opportunities for these high-value partnerships. By prioritizing standards and building reliable, well-documented processes, breweries position themselves as trusted partners capable of consistently meeting retailer expectations to supply their private label products.
The Safety Trade-Off: Why NA Beer Needs Extra Attention
Alcohol is more than a product attribute; it's an intrinsic antimicrobial barrier. This means that by removing it, you are also removing a beverage's "natural" preservative qualities, creating an environment that can allow for pathogen growth and survival.[1] Without a robust food safety system in place, operations face elevated food safety risks when producing non-alcoholic beverages. Certification is the first major step in strengthening those systems, but true impact also comes from continuously verifying that every stage of production protects from contamination.
How to Keep NA Beer Safe
In traditional beer, characteristics like low pH, ethanol, hop acids, limited oxygen, and production steps like wort boiling, pasteurization, filtration, and cold storage all contribute to microbial stability and safety.[1] Changing any one of these factors weakens the beverage's natural antimicrobial protection, which is why NA beer requires careful attention and safety considerations to ensure consumer protection.
The pathogens studied most closely in NA beer are E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and Listeria monocytogenes. In a 2023 Cornell University study, E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella survived, and in some conditions grew, in non-alcoholic beer for more than two months under refrigeration.[1] To reduce these risks of contamination in brewing, producers must apply multiple controls to compensate for the loss of alcohol's natural antimicrobial protection.[2] Key measures include:
- Maintaining a pH below 4.0
- Limiting fermentable extract and free amino nitrogen
- Applying effective stabilization, such as:
- Sterile filtration
- Flash or tunnel pasteurization
- Preservatives or antimicrobial agents (especially post-packaging, where protection is strongest)
- Targeting bitterness levels above 5 IBUs, when feasible, to deter certain pathogens
- Implementing strict hygienic practices and maintaining chilled storage
When combined, these controls provide a strong defense against spoilage and help ensure that NA beers remain safe and stable throughout their shelf life to protect brand integrity and consumers.
Draft Systems: A Special Concern
The demand for NA beer on draft is growing, but it comes with even higher food safety risks. Without alcohol acting as a natural inhibitor, kegged NA beer is far more susceptible to contamination. This means the entire dispensing system, including lines, faucets, and couplers, must be cleaned and sanitized more frequently than systems used for alcoholic beer to prevent biofilm formation and microbial buildup. Just as importantly, strict temperature control is essential; warm (or even fluctuating) storage conditions can allow pathogens to multiply rapidly.
The Final Pour
As breweries continue expanding into NA beverages, RTDs, functional products, and private label partnerships, the expectations for food safety are rising just as quickly. Certification is no longer just "nice to have"; it is the baseline for earning trust, accessing new markets, and protecting both consumers and brands that are looking to diversify.
As mentioned, SQF certification is only the starting point. The real strength comes from maintaining comprehensive processes, validating controls, and adapting food safety systems to match the unique risks of every beverage category, especially non-alcoholic products that lack the intrinsic barrier to contamination.
Breweries that invest in rigorous standards, continuous training, and proactive risk management position themselves to lead the ever-evolving beverage industry. Whether entering private label programs, diversifying product lines, or scaling NA production, strong food safety systems will remain the key ingredient for sustainable growth and success.
Ready to take your brewery beyond HACCP? Request an SQF certification quote from Kiwa ASI, or start with a gap assessment to see how close you already are.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Does a brewery need SQF certification if it only makes beer?
A: Not by regulation. HACCP and good manufacturing practices are the legal baseline. In practice, certification is what retailers, distributors, and co-packing partners ask for before they will carry a brewery's product under their own brand or expand into new categories, so it becomes a business requirement well before it is a legal one.
Q: Which SQF code applies to a brewery?
A: Breweries are audited under the SQF Food Safety Code for Manufacturing, in Food Sector Category 16 (Brewing). A brewery that also produces seltzers, sodas, or non-alcoholic beverages is typically covered under the same certification, with the additional products included in the audit scope.
Q: Why is non-alcoholic beer a higher food safety risk than regular beer?
A: Ethanol, together with low pH, hop acids, and low oxygen, is what makes conventional beer hostile to pathogens. Remove the ethanol and the remaining hurdles are not enough on their own. Published research has shown E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella surviving for weeks in refrigerated non-alcoholic beer, which is why NA producers need added controls such as pH management, pasteurization or sterile filtration, and strict cold chain.
Q: What is the difference between Kiwa ASI and ASI Training & Consulting?
A: Kiwa ASI is the certification body: it audits and certifies breweries against the SQF Code. ASI Training & Consulting is a separate entity that helps breweries prepare through gap analysis, training, and program development. Keeping the two separate is required under accreditation rules, so the people who help you build your system are never the ones who audit it.
Related reading
- SQF Certification Guide 2026: Costs, Steps & Requirements
- How to Pass Your SQF Audit
- Walmart Food Supplier Requirements
Sources
[1] Journal of Food Protection (2023). Survival of Foodborne Pathogens in Low and Nonalcoholic Craft Beer. Cornell University.
[2] Britton, S. J. and Hill, A. E. (2025). Microbiological Quality Control in Non- and Low-Alcoholic Beer Manufacturing: A Comprehensive Review of Microbial Contaminants and Strategies for Spoilage Prevention. Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists, 83(4).
[3] Safe Quality Food Institute (2025). Five Reasons Food Safety Management Certification Builds Retailer Trust in Private Brand Partnerships.