China's premier beer brand, Tsingtao Beer, said yesterday that it does not contain methanol in the brewing process, refuting a Liberty Times report that many China-produced beer brands reportedly contain the cancer-causing chemical.
\n"Tsingtao has not added methanol to its beer for many decades," said Peter Tsai (蔡清富), deputy general manager of the company that distributes Tsingtao in Taiwan, the Taiwan Tsing Beer Corp (台灣青啤).
\nTsai was responding to recent reports that Shenzhen-based Jinwei Beer Co (金威啤酒) claims to be the first Chinese brewery to not use methanol.
\nMethanol is a colorless, toxic, flammable liquid that can be used as an antifreeze, a general solvent, a fuel or a denaturant for ethyl alcohol. Medical studies show that continued consumption of methanol-containing alcohol is harmful to human health.
\nTsai said Jinwei's claim is simply outrageous because it implies that most other Chinese beer brands use the chemical in the beer-brewing process.
\nJinwei's claim has caused concern among local health authorities and consumers as China-brewed beer has enjoyed increasing popularity, where drinkers consume about 550,000 tonnes of beer a year.
\nTaiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp (
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