FOLLOWING an alert issued by the Food Standards Agency, Buckinghamshire County Council’s Trading Standards team is warning the public to be on the alert for bottles of illicit ‘Drop Vodka’ that could be potentially damaging to health.
Bottles of ‘Drop Vodka’ 70cl have been discovered on sale across England and Wales, including an instance at a shop in Milton Keynes. Local authorities have found the illicit vodka on sale in small independent retailers, corner shops and petrol stations.
There is a safety concern in that products sampled by local authorities have identified the presence of substances that can be potentially damaging to health. Under food safety legislation, this makes the product unsafe for consumption.
A number of other contraventions in the product have been identified. The product does not contain enough alcohol to be called vodka. By law, the alcohol content in vodka should be no less than 37.5%. Samples of ‘Drop Vodka’ taken by local authorities have detected levels of 28.6%, which is well below the advertised content stated on the bottle. There are also a number of labelling issues, particularly the lack of manufacturer’s details for traceability purposes.
Terry Carter, Principal Trading Standards Officer, says: “We take all alerts issued by the Food Standards Agency very seriously and, although no bottles have yet been discovered on sale in our area, officers will ensure that any illicit bottles found are withdrawn from sale and destroyed.” Margaret Aston, Cabinet Spokesman for Localities Working, says: “In the run up to Christmas, there is a strong temptation to save money by buying cheap, counterfeit alcohol, but this product really is not safe to drink and isn’t worth the risk to people’s health.”
Anyone who discovers ‘Drop Vodka’ on sale is asked to contact BCC Trading Standards via Consumer Direct on 0808 156 2259.