Fireball liqueur distributor Hi-Spirits – which last week told retailers to remove the product from sale - hopes to have it back on shelves within three weeks.
Last week UK stockists were told to pull the product from shelves and return it after batches were found to contain the US formulation of the cinnamon and whisky drink. The US recipe contains higher levels of propylene glycol (PG) than is permitted within the European Union.
The chemical is used as a flavouring ingredient in food and drink and regulation of its use differs between Europe and the US.
Hi-Spirits has been overseeing the withdrawal for Fireball brand owner Sazerac. Stockists have been asked to remove all SKUs from sale and set the bottles aside for collection.
“On behalf of Sazerac, we sincerely apologise to all Fireball stockists and their customers,” said Hi-Spirits chairman Jeremy Hill. “We have been working for the past few days with a public analyst and the FSA to ascertain which recipe had been shipped to the UK market, and regretfully, we have now been informed that a withdrawal is necessary.
“We deeply regret the inconvenience to our customers, particularly as we approach the busiest time of year for spirit sales, and we are committed to making sure the collection process, and in due course replacement with new stock, is undertaken efficiently and with the minimum of disruption.”
Hi-Spirits is sending out forms for stockists to complete advising how many cases of Fireball they have in stock and where they can be collected from.
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