No Fireball Whisky Recall Over Propylene Glycol In US, Company Says
The firestorm over the great Fireball Whisky recall of 2014 was as hot as the liquor Tuesday afternoon, but the company that distills the wildly popular whiskey says it is "perfectly safe to drink" and that it is not being recalled in the U.S. News that the cinnamon-flavored spirit had been subjected to a limited recall spread like wildfire online Tuesday, as college students, bartenders and old boozehounds worried that it might become harder to get their hands on their drink of choice.
But Sazerac Company, the Louisiana company that manufactures Fireball Whisky, quickly put an end to the conflagration late Tuesday, when it ensured its customers via a lengthy online statement that the drink is safe for consumption and that it will not be pulled from American shelves.
"Fireball Cinnamon Whisky assures its consumers the product is perfectly safe to drink," the statement reads. "There is no recall in North America. Fireball fans can enjoy their favorite product as they always have."
The company -- which announced via Twitter that "Fireball is safe to drink. Period. We’re slaying rumors on our website" -- explained that a limited recall was in fact instituted in Finland, Norway and Sweden after the company mistakenly sent a shipment of Fireball made to American recipe specifications to the Scandinavian nations, a mishap the company called a "small recipe-related compliance issue." The U.S. version contains higher levels of propylene glycol, an ingredient that European countries limit more stringently than the U.S. Food and Drug Administration -- which allows 50 grams of the ingredient per kilogram -- does.
"[Propylene glycol] is used in the Fireball flavor in very small quantities, less than 1/8th of the amount allowed by the U.S. FDA regulations," the company stated. "All Fireball formulas are absolutely safe to drink and the use of PG in Fireball creates no health risks whatsoever."
Finland, Norway and Sweden have asked Fireball to recall the shipments of American-formula Fireball, which the company said it is doing, adding that "within three weeks," drinkers should expect to see Fireball return to the Northern European nations' shelves.
Don't worry, everyone, #FireballFriday is still on this week. Just not in Scandinavia.
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