FSA warning issued on drinking Czech spirits
The Food Standards Agency is advising people travelling to, or recently returned from, the Czech Republic to steer clear of locally-produced hard spirits. This follows a recent spate of alcohol-related cases of methanol poisoning in the country, including 19 deaths.
The poisonings are associated with bootleg spirits that have been tainted with industrial methanol and which are on sale in markets, restaurants and pubs in the Czech Republic.
A further 36 people have been admitted to hospital after drinking the spirits. The spirits include vodka and rum, marketed as ‘hard liquor’, containing over 20% alcohol. On-the-spot tests by officials in the Czech Republic confirmed high levels of methanol in the alcohol. The Czech Ministry of Health has taken immediate steps to ban the sale of alcohol over 20% for the foreseeable future.
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