The Norma Oficial Mexicana (Official Mexican Standard) is the name of each of a series of official, compulsory standards and regulations for diverse activities in Mexico. They are more commonly referred to as NOM or normas.
Contents |
In the case of tequila, Mexico's Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT) regulates production NOMs. The NOM identifier means the tequila meets government standards - but this is not any guarantee of tequila's quality. However, without the NOM stamp of legitimacy, it is not guaranteed that the bottle contains tequila.
All 100% agave tequilas must have a NOM identifier on the bottle. The important laws since 1990 were NOM-006-SCFI-1993 and the later update NOM-006-SCFI-1994 and the most recent revision in late 2005, NOM-006-SCFI-2005.
The number after NOM is the distillery number, assigned by the government. NOM does not indicate the location of the distillery, merely the parent company or - in the case where a company leases space in a plant - the physical plant where the tequila was manufactured.
NOM-137-SEMARNAT-2003 - Issued on the Official Gazette on April 29, 2003, and related to atmospheric pollution, gas desulfurizing plants and sour condensate, and control of emissions of sulfur compounds.