By Zhang Feng (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-07-14 05:44
China’s beer industry, the most prolific in the world, yesterday struck back at reports that 95 per cent of domestically bottled beer contains formaldehyde.
The chemical, famously used to preserve Damian Hirst’s controversial dead cows and known to cause cancer, does play a part in the brewing process, but does not pose a threat to public safety, Xiao Derun, director of the beer branch of the China Alcoholic Drinks Industry Association, told China Daily yesterday.
A supermarket in Shanghai promotes the sales of bottled beer July 13, 2005. China’s beer industry claims that formaldehyde content is within the standards.
“Consumers need to know that the formaldehyde in beer is a different type from that in household chemicals, and this confusion has scared people greatly,” he said.
Trouble began on July 5, when Beijing newspaper The Global Times printed a letter claiming to be from a beer inspector working for an unnamed company.
The letter said many Chinese breweries were using formaldehyde as an additive, and the anonymous inspector wanted the public to know.
Accompanying the letter was an investigative report that quoted Du Lujun, secretary of the beer branch of the China Alcoholic Drinks Industry Association, as saying 95 per cent of the country’s beer contains the chemical.
According to Du, breweries use formaldehyde because it is a cheap way of preventing sediment from forming during storage.
Updated: 2005-07-12 14:32