Recently, the Hong Kong Consumer Council tested 30 canned or bottled beers for the first time, and the results showed that the alcohol concentration of 6 beer samples including Harbin Beer, Shengli Beer and Young Master Beer was quite different from the label, among them, the alcohol of Harbin McDonnell Douglas beer samples was 0.97% higher than the label, and at the same time, Harbin McDonnell Douglas beer samples were also detected to contain vomitoxin, and Carlsberg beer samples were detected with the largest types of biogenic amines.
McDonnell Douglas in Harbin was tested for vomitoxin
Response: The detected content meets the national standard
The brands involved in this test include China Resources Snow Beer, Tsingtao Beer, Heineken Beer, Budweiser Beer, Carlsberg Beer, Harbin Beer, Kingway Beer, Fujia Beer, Shengli Beer, Kirin Beer, Young Master Beer, Guinness Stout, Asahi Beer, Blue Girl Beer, etc., with a price of HK$4.5-5.0 per can or bottle and a capacity of 330-500ml.
30 beers tested by the Hong Kong Consumer Council
30 beers tested by the Hong Kong Consumer Council
The test items covered nutritional value, safety and quality. In terms of safety testing, the Harbin McDonnell Douglas beer sample was found to have vomitoxin, deoxynivalenol (also known as DON), while the remaining 29 samples were not found to contain mycotoxin.
It is reported that there are no relevant regulations on DON content in beer in Hong Kong, China or internationally. However, the Hong Kong Consumer Council pointed out that the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives recommends a daily intake of 1 microgram per kilogram of body weight for DON, and long-term exposure below this level poses no health risk to most people. This also means that a 60kg adult who consumes 4 cans of Harbin McDonnell Douglas beer in one day is still within the safe level.
However, the Hong Kong Consumer Council pointed out that this intake level is for the purpose of protecting public health, and long-term or large intake of DON may cause adverse health effects. The biggest concern for DON is safety, as it has the potential to cause symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and even fever within 30 minutes of ingestion, similar to those of other gastrointestinal disorders.
Image source: Taobao store
In response to this matter, on April 18, the relevant person in charge of Budweiser Beer told the reporter of Nandu Bay Finance Agency that the detection content of DON in Harbin Beer McDonnell Douglas samples (26 μg/kg, that is, 0.026ppm) is far lower than the Chinese national standard (cereals and their products) (1000 μg/kg, that is, 1ppm), and is also far lower than the relevant upper limit standard of international authoritative food safety agencies (less than <1ppm, that is, 1000up/kg).
The relevant person in charge of Budweiser further pointed out that the company strictly abides by the laws and regulations of the markets where its business is located, ensures product quality with strict standards, and all products are strictly tested before being launched.
On April 18, a reporter from Nandu Bay Finance Society learned that at present, Harbin Beer and Budweiser Beer are not sold in the official flagship stores of Taobao, Jingdong, Pinduoduo, etc.
Carlsberg beer and Coopers beer have the largest variety of biogenic amines
Excessive amounts of biogenic amines may cause headaches and dizziness problems
In addition to DON, the Hong Kong Consumer Council also tested 30 sample beers for biogenic amines. It is reported that in the fermentation process of alcohol, yeast consumes starch or sugar for fermentation to produce alcohol, and biogenic amines are by-products of the fermentation process. Therefore, biogenic amines are generally used as one of the important indicators to measure the quality, safety and hygiene of alcoholic beverages.
According to the test results, the 30 sample beer samples were detected with different types and concentrations of biogenic amines, among which Carlsberg beer samples were the most detectable biogenic amines (7 kinds), and Coopers beer samples were the second most likely to detect biogenic amines (5 kinds). In addition, the two biogenic amines – putrescine and agmatine – were the highest among the samples in Carlsberg and Coopers, with concentrations ranging from 32.8 to 121.4 milligrams per litre of single biogenic amines.
At present, there are no regulations on the content of biogenic amines in beer in Hong Kong, China or internationally. According to the Hong Kong Consumer Council, excessive intake of biogenic amines may cause health problems, including headaches, dizziness, vomiting, respiratory disorders, etc., and may even lead to cerebral hemorrhage.
In response to the detection of more biogenic amines, on April 18, a reporter from Nandu Bay Finance Society contacted the relevant person in charge of Carlsberg Beer, but as of press time, no reply has been received. In addition, according to Carlsberg Beer's response to the Hong Kong Consumer Council, it said that the test found that the sample contained a low dose of putrescine, a biogenic amine commonly found in many fermented foods. At present, the European Union and the Centre for Food Safety of Hong Kong have not set food safety standards for putrescine in food. Carlsberg pointed out that Carlsberg has always attached great importance to product quality and safety, and has been strictly monitoring the production, storage and transportation procedures of beer to ensure that all beer products produced comply with international and local food safety regulations and standards before they are officially released.
In addition to DON and biogenic amines, the Hong Kong Consumer Council also tested on common microorganisms that are susceptible to beer spoilage, and the results showed that all samples were not found to be found to be susceptible to spoilage. In terms of quality testing, the CO2 content of all beer samples was in compliance with the relevant regulations.
Harbin McDonnell Douglas beer, young master beer and other 6 beers
Alcohol content and labeling vary widely
In this test, the Hong Kong Consumer Council also tested the alcohol concentration of the sample, and according to the product label, the alcohol content of the sample beer was between 3% and 8.0%.
According to the test, the alcohol content of these 30 beer samples all met the relevant regulations, but the alcohol concentration detected in the 6 beer samples of Shengli, Ghost, M&S, Harbin, YAMAGUCHI and Shaoye was quite different from the label, among which the largest gap was Harbin McDonnell Douglas beer, which contained more than or equal to 3.7% alcohol, and the actual alcohol concentration detected was 4.67%. THE ALCOHOL CONCENTRATION DETECTED IN THE BEER SAMPLES OF YAMAGUCHI AND YOUNG MASTER WAS LOWER THAN THE LABEL, 0.64% AND 0.58% RESPECTIVELY.
In view of the large difference between the alcohol concentration labeled by Harbin McDonnell Douglas beer and the actual detection, the reporter of Nandu Bay Finance Society asked the relevant person in charge of Budweiser Beer about the situation, but has not yet received a reply. At the same time, the customer service of AB InBev's official flagship store told the reporter of Nandu Bay Finance Society that the quality and safety of Harbin Beer's products fully comply with national and international authoritative standards.
According to the national standard "General Principles for the Labeling of Prepackaged Beverage Liquor (GB10344-2005)", the alcohol content of all beverage wines should be labeled, but the General Principles do not further stipulate the allowable difference between the value labeled and the actual content of beverage wine. According to the relevant EU regulations, the maximum deviation between the declared beer and the actual content is 0.5% for beer with an alcohol content of 5.5% or less, and 1.0% for beer with an alcohol content of more than 5.5%.