Recently, the Hong Kong Consumer Council’s “Choice” monthly magazine published an evaluation article on beer, covering 30 samples of pre-packaged canned or bottled beer, mainly purchased from supermarkets, department stores, and retail shops. The volumes ranged from 330 milliliters to 500 milliliters, and the alcohol content indicated on the samples ranged from 3% to 8%.
Large Discrepancies in Alcohol Content in 6 Samples
The alcohol content indicated on the 30 samples ranged from 3% to 8%, while the test results showed that the alcohol concentrations of the samples ranged from 3.39% to 7.46%.
Alcohol concentrations in 4 samples were found to be 0.5% or more higher than indicated, including “Shengli,” “Guilao,” “M&S,” and “Harbin” (Harbin HARBIN Beer, hereinafter referred to as Harbin). Among them, the largest difference was found in the “Harbin” sample, which was labeled as “greater than or equal to 3.7% alcohol,” while the test found an alcohol concentration of 4.67%. Calculated using the minimum indicated value, the difference reached 0.97%.
The article stated that beer standards or regulations in different regions require accurate labeling of alcohol content rather than a range of alcohol concentrations. The indication of “greater than or equal to 3.7% alcohol” on Harbin’s label may lead consumers to believe that the alcohol concentration is “3.7%”.
Alcohol concentrations in 2 samples, “YAMAGUCHI” and “Young Master,” were found to be more than 0.5% lower than indicated, with differences of 0.64% and 0.58%, respectively.
1 Sample Found with Vomit Toxin
After testing for 8 common beer mycotoxins, the results showed that one sample, “Harbin,” was found with deoxynivalenol (DON), with a detection level of 26 micrograms per kilogram. No other samples were found with mycotoxins.
Deoxynivalenol (DON), also known as vomit toxin, is mainly produced by Fusarium graminearum and Fusarium culmorum, which can be found in soil and are pathogens of cereals (especially wheat and maize).
The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives recommends a daily intake of 1 microgram per kilogram of body weight for DON, meaning that long-term exposure below this level is unlikely to pose a health risk to most people. For a 60-kilogram adult, consuming 4 cans of the sample (Harbin) detected with DON in one day would still be within safe levels.
However, the article reminds consumers that this intake level is set to protect public health, especially in cases where long-term or large amounts of DON intake may have adverse effects on health.
The article highlights that the primary concern with DON is safety, as it may cause symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and even fever within 30 minutes of ingestion, which are similar to symptoms of other gastrointestinal diseases and are difficult to distinguish. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies certain mycotoxins derived from Fusarium (including DON) as Group 3 substances, meaning it is not clear whether they are carcinogenic to humans.
The article mentioned that the manufacturer of “Harbin” stated that the company has never exported tested products to Hong Kong for sale. The product has always been produced and sold only in mainland China and is not intended for sale in other regions. The entire production and sales process of the product comply with relevant laws and regulations in mainland China. The detected DON content in the samples is both compliant with and far below the relevant upper limit standards set internally, domestically, and internationally for cereal products. Regarding alcohol content, the company stated that the test results comply with the requirements of the mainland standard GB/T 4927-2008.
Source: Hong Kong Consumer Council