A few days ago, the Consumer Council of Hong Kong, China conducted a beer evaluation in the monthly magazine "Choice", covering 30 prepackaged canned or canned beer samples, including Tsingtao Beer, Harbin Beer, China Resources Snow Beer, Carlsberg, Kirin Beer, Budweiser Beer, Kingway Beer, Blue Ice and other brands, mainly purchased from supermarkets, department stores and retail stores, with a capacity of 330ml to 500ml, and the alcohol content of the samples ranged from 3% to 8%.
Among them, 1 sample was found to contain "deoxynivalenol" (also known as vomitoxin, hereinafter referred to as "DON"), which was found to contain "Harbin HARBIN McDonnell Doesnnell Doesn't Beer" at a level of 26 μg/kg, while the rest of the samples were not detected with mycotoxin.
Harbin Beer is now a beer brand of Budweiser China. Regarding the above test results, Budweiser responded to the reporter of "Daily Economic News • Will Enter Wine" on April 19: "As a responsible enterprise, our company strictly abides by the laws and regulations of the markets where our business is located, ensures product quality with strict standards, and all products are strictly tested before listing. ”
The company also said: "The test report of the Hong Kong Consumer Council of China refers to the "Harbin Beer Wheat Racecourse" sample containing deoxynivalenol (DON), which is far lower than the Chinese national standard (cereals and their products) (1000μg/kg, i.e. 1ppm), and far below the relevant upper limit standard of international authoritative food safety agencies (less than 1ppm, i.e. 1000μg/kg). ”
Regarding the sales area of the product, Budweiser further stated that the official cooperation channel of Budweiser APAC does not sell Harbin McDonnell Douglas beer in Hong Kong, China.
It was detected to contain 26 micrograms per kilogram of vomitoxin
Drink 4 cans within 1 day and still be within the safe level
According to a report by Xinhua News Agency's Economic Information Daily on April 18, according to a report released by the Hong Kong Consumer Council, "Harbin Beer Wheat Channel" was found to contain mycotoxin DON at a level of 26 micrograms per kilogram, which is still within the safe level if an adult weighs 60 kilograms, even if 4 cans are consumed within 1 day.
However, consumers are reminded that this level is designed to protect public health, especially in cases where long-term or large intake of DON may have adverse health effects.
However, the risk of DON should not be taken lightly, as DON is also known as vomitoxin, which may cause symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and fever within 30 minutes after excessive ingestion, which is similar to the symptoms of other gastrointestinal diseases. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies certain Fusarium-derived toxins (including DON) as Group 3 substances, i.e. they are not known to be carcinogenic to humans. In addition, all samples were found to contain different types and levels of biogenic amines.
According to the Consumer Council of Hong Kong, China, barley, a raw material for beer, may be contaminated with mould due to improper storage, and the mycotoxins in it remain in the beer during the production process. Due to the ubiquity of mold, it is technically impossible to completely eliminate DON from cereals at this time. The Consumer Council of Hong Kong, China advises manufacturers to carefully select high-quality, purified and well-stored raw materials to brew beer to minimise the risk of DON in their products.
It is understood that Harbin Beer Douglas is one of the affordable old products of Harbin Beer, because the bottle glass is green, the bottle capacity is greater than the standard 580 ml, the folk have the "big green stick" said, in Harbin and the surrounding market still have a group of loyal consumers.
In this regard, netizens hotly discussed: "Shut your mouth, goodbye to this brand", "It turns out that wine is not good, it's not that I can't drink it", "What is vomitoxin? Why should it be added to beer"?
Why is DON in beer?
According to an article published in July 2023 by the Shenzhen Customs Food Inspection and Quarantine Technology Center in the WeChat official account of the Shenzhen Branch of the China Electronic Port Data Center, DON is a common mycotoxin that grows slowly in cereal crops during low temperatures, humidity and harvesting seasons, generally in higher concentrations in barley, wheat, corn, oats, and lower concentrations in rye, sorghum, and rice.
Grains such as barley and corn are the main ingredients for the production of beer, so they are likely to appear in beer. According to Chinese mainland's national food safety standards, DON is classified as a mycotoxin, one of the secondary toxic metabolites produced by fungi during growth and reproduction, and is classified as "mycotoxins that may pose a greater risk to public health".
For humans, when a person ingests food contaminated with vomitoxin, it can cause acute poisoning symptoms such as anorexia, vomiting, diarrhoea, fever, unsteadiness, unresponsiveness, and may even cause cerebral hemorrhage. In severe cases, damage to the hematopoietic system causes death.
According to a report by China-Singapore Jingwei on April 19, Harbin McDonnell Douglas brewers responded that the DON content detected in their samples was far below the relevant upper limit standards set by the mainland and international cereals.
In 2017, the Food and Drug Administration disclosed the "National Food Safety Standard Limit of Mycotoxins in Food" (GB 2761-2017), which put forward requirements for the content of deoxynivalenol in food: the content in corn, cornmeal (dregs, flakes), barley, wheat, cereal, wheat flour and other cereals and their products shall not exceed 1000 micrograms per kilogram.
At present, the national standard GB 2761-2017 does not have a separate requirement for the limit of DON in beer and other alcoholic beverages, only the above-mentioned restrictions on the food category of "cereals and their products". According to the definition of the document, the "cereals and their products" are all unprocessed and semi-processed corn, barley, wheat and other food or products, and there are no alcoholic beverages.
A doctoral dissertation at Jiangnan University, "Study on the Role and Mechanism of Graphitic Nitride Carbon-based Homojunction Photocatalytic Reduction of Vomitoxin in Beer Malt", pointed out that "the DON pollution of beer mainly comes from brewing raw materials, and barley malt is the main raw material for beer brewing. The paper also synthesized the sample testing data of related beers at home and abroad, and the results showed that the detection rate of DON in beer was 26%-100%, and the frequency of contamination was high, and the abnormal samples with high pollution appeared irregularly, threatening the health of consumers.
According to the above-mentioned paper, "the limit standard of DON in continental beer has not yet been promulgated, and it is difficult to attract the attention of manufacturers to the problem of DON pollution".
According to a report by Zhongxin Jingwei on April 19, Zhang Xusheng, a lawyer at Shanghai Jilu Law Firm and a toxicologist at the Chinese Society of Toxicology, told reporters that the residue of vomitoxin detected in beer is related to the raw materials used in beer manufacturing, because wheat, barley, corn and other grains and cereals are susceptible to Fusarium infection.
However, Zhang Xusheng mentioned that the Hong Kong Consumer Council did not identify the beer sample detected with vomitoxin as unqualified samples, but made a probabilistic prediction of the health risk of long-term ingestion. For consumers, the possible health risks of the exposure to vomitoxin in this incident are low, and the health risks caused by long-term ethanol consumption should be more concerning.
The company's response: only produced and sold in the mainland
The Hong Kong Consumer Council of China sent for inspection a 500ml can of Harbin Beer Douglas beer. According to the 21st Century Business Herald, the reporter consulted the e-commerce platform Harbin Beer Flagship Store as a consumer, and the customer service said that the flagship store of this product was not sold.
According to Nanfang + news, the manufacturer of "Harbin HARBIN McDonnell Douglas Beer" responded that the product has only been produced and sold in the mainland, and the entire production and sales process of the product complies with relevant mainland laws and regulations.
According to Zhongxin Jingwei, the Harbin McDonnell Douglas beer manufacturer responded that the company has never exported and sold the tested products to Hong Kong, China.
In its endorsement, the Consumer Council of Hong Kong, China, stated that it would purchase the product from general retail outlets in the market. After the reporter visited a number of convenience stores in Hong Kong, China, no Harbin McDonnell Douglas beer was found for sale. After inquiring with the Consumer Council of Hong Kong, China, the reporter saw on the website of an agent in Hong Kong, China, called Price Zhenzhan that its past discount posters included pictures of Harbin McDonnell Douglas and other beers.
According to the 21st Century Business Herald, on the e-commerce platform, there are some third-party stores selling this product, bottled and canned products are sold, 6 bottles are mostly around 40 yuan, and the location of these third-party online stores and product delivery are Harbin. A third-party Taobao store responded to reporters that the production date of the Harbin Beer Douglas on sale is from the end of last year to February this year, with a shelf life of 6 months, and it is produced by the Harbin Brewery General Factory.
Harbin Beer Douglas on an e-commerce site
Although Harbin McDonnell Douglas is named after the Chinese city, the Harbin beer brand has been acquired by Budweiser APAC Holdings Limited.
Budweiser China used to be known as "Budweiser InBev Investment (China) Co., Ltd.", and its related subsidiaries were spun off and listed in Hong Kong, China, namely Budweiser APAC (1876.HK). HK）。 Budweiser APAC is principally engaged in the brewing and distribution of beer, and its beer brands mainly include Budweiser, Times, Corona, Fujia, Kaishi and Harbin. In addition, the Company also manufactures, promotes, distributes and sells other non-beer beverages, with operations mainly located in China, South Korea, India, Vietnam and other Asia-Pacific regions.
According to the official website of Budweiser APAC Holdings Co., Ltd., Harbin Beer originated in 1900 and has been exported to more than 30 countries and regions around the world as the earliest beer in China. Budweiser APAC's performance last year was lower than expected, and it fell into the dilemma of "increasing revenue but not increasing profits". According to the 2023 annual report, Budweiser APAC achieved operating income of US$6.856 billion, a year-on-year increase of 11.1%, with a total sales volume of 9.2767 billion liters of beer, normalized EBIT of US$1.369 billion, a year-on-year increase of 15.2%, and normalized EBITDA of US$2.023 billion, an increase of 10.8% year-on-year. However, due to the impact of non-basic tariff provisions in South Korea, Budweiser APAC's profit attributable to equity holders decreased from US$913 million in 2022 to US$852 million in 2023, a year-on-year decrease of 6.68%.
It is worth noting that Budweiser APAC had a poor performance in the fourth quarter of last year. According to the financial report, Budweiser APAC's revenue in the fourth quarter of last year was $1.29 billion, and the net loss reached $23 million, which was lower than expected. During the same period, Budweiser APAC saw a decline in sales in a number of key markets. In the western part of the Asia-Pacific region, China, and the eastern part of the Asia-Pacific region, sales fell by 1.9%, 3.1%, and 3.4%, respectively, and sales in South Korea also declined.
In addition, public information shows that since May 2021, Budweiser China has been fined more than 1.4 million yuan by the Market Supervision and Administration Bureau for multiple suspected violations of the Advertising Law of the People's Republic of China.
In the secondary market, on April 19, Budweiser APAC opened lower, and as of the close, it was HK$10.04 per share, up 0.20%, with the latest market value of HK$133 billion.
Editor|Cheng Peng, Du Hengfeng
Proofreading|Wang Yuelong
Cover image source: Video screenshot
The daily economic news is synthesized from every Jingjing APP (reporter: Xiong Jianan, Huanghai), Zhongxin Jingwei (reporter: Wang Yuling, Luo Kun), 21st Century Business Herald, Southern +, Economic Information Daily (reporter: Zhang Juan)
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