The process that's getting held up is more for consumer protection than anything. I don't see it as a function of big government. It happens in most industries (including the meat industry that we're currently encountering the same scenarios) where you can't put misleading shit on a label that is going into nationwide commerce.

In the meat industry, if you make a claim like "All Natural" or "Organic", you have to send the label in to Washington for approval. There are companies out there that want to put some serious bullshit on a label so people will want to buy their product. If you're not making a claim on the label, the in-house USDA inspector can approve the label. The label approval process in DC is considered "non-essential" so we currently have customers that want a new product and the label hasn't been approved, so we can't make their product.

These things aren't completely detrimental to businesses, but if the the .gov shutdown caused the USDA-Food Safety and Inspection Service to close even for a day, it would create havoc in the food supply. As long as the gov allows beer making companies to continue to do what they do during the shutdown, we'll all be safe.