Recall and destroy "29 Hanoi Rice Wine" nationwide

From November 29 to December 6, there were 4 cases of acute food poisoning (FFP) leading to death due to drinking "29 Hanoi Rice Wine" with methanol concentration exceeding the permitted level, produced by 29 Hanoi Import-Export Joint Stock Company, located at 40 Vu Xuan Thieu, Sai Dong, Long Bien, Hanoi.

To urgently prevent the risk of food poisoning caused by the above product, the Department of Food Safety has issued document No. 2741/ATTP-ND to agencies, departments and branches to coordinate in organizing, directing and implementing emergency handling measures for the above product.

Authorities check alcohol with methanol concentration exceeding the permitted level. Photo: danviet.vn

At the same time, request the manufacturer to immediately stop production and circulation of the product "Ruou Nep 29 Ha Noi" produced on October 12, 2013 at the production facility; inventory and seal the products being stored in the warehouse; immediately report to the company's distribution network and locations; urgently notify the inventory of the products (quantity imported, sold, and in stock) and recall them to the warehouse of the agent, distributor and transfer them to the company's warehouse before December 12, 2013; coordinate with the authorities to destroy the products in accordance with the law.

The Department also requested to organize supervision and inspection of product recall and destruction and report to the Department of Food Safety before December 15, 2013 nationwide.

In addition, the Company's violations of food safety regulations must be strictly inspected, examined, and handled, and publicized on the media in accordance with regulations, and food safety inspection and supervision of other products of Hanoi 29 Import-Export Joint Stock Company must be continued.

The amount of methanol is 2000 times higher than the allowable level.

From November 29 to December 5, there were 3 cases of food poisoning, with a total of 9 people infected, 1 person died on the spot, and 6 people were hospitalized. Of the 6 people hospitalized, 3 died (1 person died on the way to the hospital and 2 people died at the hospital), bringing the total number of deaths to 4.

The Department of Food Safety and Hygiene of Quang Ninh province investigated and collected 2 samples of residual alcohol from 2 food poisoning cases. The test results at the Provincial Center for Preventive Medicine showed a high Methanol content of 82.4 - 99.2% by volume/100-degree ethanol (tested by UV-VIS method).

At the same time, the functional units have traced the origin of 10 other independent wine samples (including 5 samples on the market and 5 samples from Level 1 Agents in Quang Ninh province). The test results showed that 1/1 sample produced on July 12, 2013 and 1/1 sample produced on August 12, 2013 had methanol content less than 0.05% volume/l of 100-degree ethanol. 8/8 samples produced on October 12, 2013 all had methanol content above 80% volume/l of 100-degree ethanol. These positive samples coincided with the residual wine samples of the 2 above-mentioned NDTP cases.

Meanwhile, the allowable methanol content in wine is less than or equal to 0.05. That is, the actual methanol content in “29 Hanoi Rice Wine” is nearly 2000 times higher than the allowable level.

Methanol in alcohol causes poisoning in two ways: it penetrates the brain and inhibits this organ. The second and most dangerous way is that Methanol converts into aldehyde, creating formaldehyde (also known as formalin). This substance is extremely toxic and extremely strong to the body. It is the cause of headaches and fatigue after drinking alcohol, causing cerebral palsy. This is also a super-strong liver destroyer. The most frightening thing is that it causes cell death, which leads to death of the body.

Methanol is a toxic substance, commonly found in solvents for cleaning car windows, as ink solution for photocopiers, fuel for small stoves, and is considered an industrial solvent. Methanol can appear in many preparations such as cleaning solutions, refrigeration, or paint production...

Methanol is prepared in many ways such as distilling gas from wood or coal, other gas sources, biomass sources (biogas), from CO2 in the air or fossil gas... it has the characteristics of being colorless, odorless and is a toxic chemical that can cause death.

Patients in the poisoning cases from November 29 to December 5 in Quang Ninh all had symptoms appearing from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. after drinking alcohol with symptoms such as headache, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, accompanied by fatigue throughout the body, especially blurred vision, as if there was fog in front of their eyes, and some patients even saw only white.

Methanol is mixed into wine to reduce costs and increase the volume of wine. However, this substance is extremely toxic if consumed. For standard wines, Methanol must be reduced to a content of less than 0.1mg Methanol per liter. If this limit is exceeded, it will become a toxic wine, seriously affecting human health, such as causing acute poisoning. If this condition persists for a long time, the body will accumulate methanol in the body, affecting organs such as the liver, nerves, blindness, and even leading to cancer and death.

According to the Inspector