The Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority (CAFIA) revealed an extraordinary high concentration of methanol in a sample of spirit drink taken in a non-registered storehouse of VERDANA s.r.o. in Zlín's locality Rybníky. Laboratory analysis detected presence of methanol in concentration of 535,847 milligrams per litre of absolute alcohol (mg/l a.a.) in a product labelled and tax stamped by Likérka Drak s.r.o. - Original Tuzemák of 40% of alcohol, in package ŕ 0.42l with label and tax stamp of Likérka Drak s.r.o. Methanol thus represented a half of all alcohol in the consumer's package. It was highly toxic mixture packaged as foodstuff by the producer and prepared for expedition to retail network.    

The Inspection Authority found 7,600 bottles of the product in question in storehouse of VERDANA s.r.o., which represented 3,300 litres of spirit drink in total. The detected amount of spirit drink is, at the given methanol concentration, able to kill thousands of people.

The Inspection Authority handed all its detections to the Police of the CR as well as to the Customs Authorities so that these bodies could act within their terms of reference. With regard to the seriousness of the finding, the storehouse is now secured from possible movement of goods, namely as a consequence of the measure imposed by CAFIA and the Customs Authorities in previous days. The Inspection Authority carries on sampling and testing of spirit drinks regarded as unsafe.

Joint inspection of CAFIA and the Customs Authorities was carried out in the storehouse of VERDANA s.r.o. last week. Based on the findings, the Inspection Authority immediately banned putting 31,426 bottles and six-litre barrels into circulation – in total, it is 56,360 litres of spirit drinks – with label and tax stamp of Likérka Drak company. This consumers’ packagings were not provided with lots. That is why origin and production dates are impossible to be identified, which is in contradiction with Act on Foodstuffs (No. 110/1997 Coll.). The food business operator was not able to show any accompanying documentation during the inspection which could explain the origin of spirit in non-labelled bottles. What is more, the food business operator failed to register the storehouse in question at CAFIA and it is thus illegal premises. VERDANA s.r.o. is the exclusive distributor of products of Likérka Drak s.r.o. for the CR.