Chinese beer rumoured containing carcinogen
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-07-12 14:32

The Japanese health ministry has asked importers of Chinese beers, increasingly popular in Japan, to confirm the drinks are safe after reports they contain a cancer-causing agent.

The Tsingtao beer has gradually become a beer of choice among Japanese drinkers. [baidu]

"We have told quarantine offices to ask the importers to check the ingredients" with all manufacturers of Chinese beer, a health ministry official said.

Japan's 31 food quarantine offices will take the action after a report last week in the South Korean newspaper Joong-Ang Ilbo that saidChinese beers contained a large amount of formaldehyde, a potentially cancer-causing chemical banned in food in Japan.

The probe depended on the good faith of Chinese beer makers as there was no established method to detect formaldehyde in beer, the official said.

Brewers usually used silica gel, which was not hazardous, to remove unwanted substances from beer, but some Chinese brewers could be using formaldehyde, which was cheaper, to cut costs, Kyodo News agency quoted Japanese government sources as saying.

Trade between Japan and China has grown rapidly in recent years despite frequent political friction over Japan's imperial history and disputed energy resources.

Japanese imports of beer have risen sharply with brands such as Tsingtao increasingly the drinks of choice.

Japan imported 1.77 million litres of Chinese beer in 2004, a more than 2.6-fold jump from five years ago, according to official Japanese data.

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