Biodiesel labelling in the United States

The National Biodiesel Board submitted recommendations to the Federal Trade Commission? on biodiesel labelling and the FTC? created a “blue” label for biodiesel and an “orange” label for biomass-based diesel. The rules are below:

Labeling Specifics: There are three different labeling requirements at four different concentration levels.

• No label is required for blends B5? and lower. Retailers are not required to disclose the presence of biodiesel at these low concentrations, provided they meet the specifications in D975?.
  • For fuel containing more than 5 percent biodiesel, up to B20, the text within the heading (black band) should display either:
  • The capital letter B followed by a numeric representation of the percentage of biodiesel and then the term “Biodiesel Blend”
  • The term “Biodiesel Blend.”
  • Retailers can provide the exact percentage of biodiesel in this range (B10, B15), but are not required to. Directly underneath the black band is the text “contains biomass-based diesel or biodiesel in quantities between 5 percent and 20 percent.”
• For fuel concentrations higher than B20 and less than B100, a specific blend designation (e.g., B25, B50, B99, etc.) is required in the heading, followed the term “Biodiesel Blend.” Directly underneath the black band is the text “contains more than 20 percent biomass-based diesel? or biodiesel.”
• For neat biodiesel B100, the heading must display “B100 Biodiesel,” and below the black band is the text “contains 100 percent biodiesel.”
• The provisions for biomass-based diesel fuel are similar to those of biodiesel, with the exception that no letter + number designation is used in the black heading.
  • Fuels that contain more than 5 percent biodiesel and more than 5 percent biomass-based diesel fuel must have a label for both biodiesel and biomass-based diesel fuel of the appropriate type for the level of inclusion of biodiesel and biomass-based diesel.

External links

National Biodiesel Board