BENGALURU: After finding sediments in a popular brand of beer, the excise department has recalled the bottles supplied to depots and retail stores, citing health concerns.
An order to recall the bottles was issued on August 2 by the offices of Mysuru district commissioner of the
excise department and the deputy commissioner of excise of Bengaluru urban district.
The order stated that beer bottled on June 25 by United Breweries Limited at Nanjangud in Mysuru district contained some sediments. The order was issued based on a report from laboratories.
‘Inhouse chemists found no sediments in beer’
An excise official said, “The beer was bottled on June 25 and dispatched on July 15. The inhouse chemists found no sediments when it was bottled. Government clearance was also given. After 15 days, brewery officers found sediments in beer. So, we told depot officers to test the stock and they found sediments in beer.”
Excise officials said the batch numbers have been shared with all depots and retailers and they have been asked to withhold sales. There were 20,000 beer boxes in the distillery and 10,000 boxes in the depots. Beer bottled in Mysuru is supplied to five depots, including those in Bengaluru and Mysuru.
“We don’t have details on how many bottles have been sold, how many have reached retail outlets and how many are at the depots. We are collecting details,” the official said.
Stating that the beer containing sediments is not poisonous, he said, “They are not chemicals. During filtration, some sediments have not got filtered. The beer does not fulfill the criteria set by the Bureau of Indian Standards. If a person consumes it, he may suffer from a bad stomach for some days. So as a precautionary measure, we have recalled the bottles. We have also alerted the consumers.”