Like the regulatory body for Tequila that it is based on, COMERCAM (Consejo Mexicano Regulador de la Calidad del Mezcal) is the non-governmental organization that was tasked by the Mexican government to oversee the regulation of the mezcal industry.
Mezcal received the official Denominación de Origen in 1994 and the rules regulating the industry were established shortly thereafter. COMERCAM was created in 1996 to oversee the rules for the industry. Once NOM-70, the official rules and guidelines for mezcal, was finalized in 2003, COMERCAM became the organization that regulated and certified all mezcal. It is also one of the organizers of the International Feria del Mezcal that takes place in Oaxaca every July to coincide with the Guelaguetza dance festival.
Under the leadership of Hipocrates Nolasco, COMERCAM became the primary organization to market mezcal in Mexico as well as in markets outside of Mexico. It began using the initials CRM as its name, though COMERCAM has always been the official name. It established labs for testing, created a network and gatherings for mezcal producers across the country, initiated various transparency programs to track agave cultivation, and helped guide a major overhaul of NOM-70 in 2015.
COMERCAM maintained its role as the singular overseer of mezcal for almost 20 years but after a series of missteps and controversies, the Mexican government opened the category to other certifying bodies. Today there are five non-governmental organizations that certify mezcal, though COMERCAM is the largest.
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