Recently, the Harbin McDowell beer under the Budweiser brand was found to have exceeded the limit of the mycotoxin “Deoxynivalenol” (also known as vomit toxin, DON) by the Hong Kong Consumer Council. The official response from Harbin Beer was that the beer is only sold in mainland China and meets Chinese standards. However, the Consumer Council of Hong Kong stated that there are no DON standards set for beer in mainland China. As a result, several e-commerce platforms in mainland China have taken down the beer from their shelves.
The Consumer Council of Hong Kong conducted tests on 30 samples of pre-packaged canned or bottled beers available in the market to assess their nutritional value, safety, and quality. Among them, “Harbin Beer McDowell” was found to contain the mycotoxin DON in excess.
The test results indicated that harmful levels of DON detected per kilogram were 26 micrograms. For a 60-kilogram adult, consuming four cans in a day still falls within the safe range, but symptoms like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and even fever may occur within 30 minutes of ingesting DON.
Although Harbin McDowell beer bears the name of Harbin, the brand has been acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev Asia Pacific Holdings Limited.
Following the controversy, on April 20, Taobao, JD.com, Pinduoduo, and other e-commerce platforms’ official flagship stores stopped selling Harbin McDowell beer, with only some third-party stores still selling the product.
The manufacturer of Harbin McDowell beer responded by stating that they have never exported the tested product to Hong Kong or sold it there. The product has always been manufactured and sold in mainland China, with the entire production and sales process complying with relevant Chinese laws and regulations.
In response to this, the Consumer Council of Hong Kong noted that they purchased the product from regular retail stores in the market. While both mainland China and international standards set limits for the mycotoxin content in grains and products (including barley, wheat, malt, and wheat flour), there are no specific requirements for beer.
The statement of “only sold and produced in mainland China” has sparked much criticism from netizens.
Netizens commented: “This response is too unethical, just sold in the mainland.” “This is irresponsible.” “It’s not that I can’t drink, turns out the beer is the issue.” “Does it mean they are using medicine meant for rats to increase profits, and important people still want to try it? Breaking the rules… mainland China’s food safety needs oversight from other regions or countries, it’s really a joke.”
Another netizen commented: “This was detected in Hong Kong, if it were in mainland China, will they not solve the issue but target those who raised the problem instead?”
Responsibility Editor: Sun Yun#