BELGIUM: ANHEUSER-BUSCH BREWER RECALLS ALL BOTTLED BUDWEISER BEER DUE TO A PROBLEM WITH THE PACKING

Record ID: 517974

  • Title: BELGIUM: ANHEUSER-BUSCH BREWER RECALLS ALL BOTTLED BUDWEISER BEER DUE TO A PROBLEM WITH THE PACKING
  • Date: 2nd September 1999
  • Summary: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (SEPTEMBER 2, 1999) (REUTERS) 1. SLV EXTERIOR OF GB GROCERY STORE 0.04 2. CU OF GB LOGO 0.09 3. SLV BEER SHELVES 0.13 4. PAN BUDWEISER BEER PACKS 0.24 5. CU OF A BUDWEISER PACK 0.29 6. CU OF THE LABEL 0.34 7. LAS CLIENT LOOKING AT THE BEERS 0.38 8. CU OF BUDWEISER BOTTLES (2 SHOTS) 0.52
  • Embargoed: 17th September 1999 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
  • Country: Belgium
  • Reuters ID: LVA4TVGPK8V1QBZW8Z3NUCPOVRWY
  • Story Text: Anheuser-Busch, the world's largest brewer has
    recalled all bottled Budweiser beer from 12 European
    countries, joining Coca-Cola in the second major beverage
    recall of a summer dominated by health scares.

    Anheuser-Busch said on Thursday (September 2) that it
    had recalled all twist-off bottles of Budweiser in 12 European
    countries due to a problem with the packaging, which could
    result in slivers of glass breaking off on the rim of the beer
    bottles.

    The company, based in St.Louis, Missouri, said in a
    statement released by its Brussels-based European headquarters
    that there was no problem with the quality of the beer inside.

    Anheuser-Busch said it issued the recall after receiving
    10 consumer complaints in 12 countries since August.

    "Due to a manufacturing problem at the glass supplier in
    Spain and Portugal caused by uneven wear and tear on the
    bottle-forming mould equipment, the top ring on some of the
    twist-off bottles in the recall countries extends slightly
    further out than it should," the company said in a statement.

    "This piece can break off when the bottle is opened."
    The company said the problem originated with its glass
    suppliers Vicasa, in Madrid, and Barbosa Almeda, in Portugal.

    Only those bottles filled at a brewery in Spain were
    affected by the recall, which applies to all twist-off bottles
    of Budweiser.Anheuser-Busch promotes 'Bud' as "the king of beers".

    It did not provide details on the number of bottles
    involved in the recall, but it said it represented six
    percent of its total annual European beer volume.

    The Bud recall was the second major product withdrawal in
    Europe this summer by a beverage maker.

    Coca-Cola, the world's largest producer of soft drinks,
    was forced to pull millions of drinks from store shelves
    across Europe when hundreds of people in Belgium and France
    became ill after drinking Coca-Cola products.

    That scare followed on the heels of Belgium's
    dioxin-in-food crisis, which forced the withdrawal of Belgian
    food products from markets around the world after the
    discovery of animal feed contaminated with the cancer-causing
    chemical dioxin.

    In a statement, the vice president and managing
    director-Europe for Anheuser-Busch European Trade, William
    McNulty said: "We regret this inconvenience to our retail and
    consumer customers, but believe this is an appropriate step to
    maintain our quality standards."
    "Our glass suppliers...are working to help resolve the
    problem by revising their production equipment that will
    assure the problem will not recur," McNulty said.

    "We also have implemented additional quality checks on
    bottles in the brewery."
    The recall is for all 25-cl and 33-cl twist-off bottles
    sold in Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, Cyprus, Malta,
    Belgium, Netherlands, Latvia, Germany and Switzerland, and for
    only 25-cl bottles in France, Anheuser-Busch said.

    Budweiser is sold under the "Anheuser-Busch B" brand name
    in Germany and Switzerland.

    Budweiser glass bottles sold in Ireland, Greece and Italy
    are supplied from a different glass source and are not subject
    to the recall.

    Beer produced at the company's brewery near London and for
    sale in Britain is not affected."However, a very small number
    of bottles filled in Spain are sold in the UK.These are
    clearly identified by the twist-off cap and the back label
    identifying place of origin," Anheuser-Busch said.

    Budweiser sold in cans in Europe and Budweiser sold in the
    United States is not affected.


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