No trace of methanol in Kingfisher beer, says producer

KUALA LUMPUR: Indian conglomerate United Breweries has stated that its Kingfisher beer has zero traces of Methanol, and it will lodge police reports against those who spread allegations that their product is tainted with the chemical.
This comes after four more methanol poisoning deaths have been reported, three in Selangor and one in Kuala Lumpur, bringing the latest death toll recorded by the health ministry to 37 after they had consumed alcoholic beverages which had high levels of methanol.
The company's advisor S. Chandran said that they had done a chemical test on the batches of beer it sends to Malaysia by a pharma and chemical lab in India.
"The test concluded that there were zero traces of methanol in our beer. The traces of methanol were 100% absent in beer," he said in a press conference yesterday.
He also added that the company will give samples to Malaysian counterparts for testing should they require it in the course of their investigations.
Chandran also said that as a result of viral messages being spread on social media and news reports that their beer has methanol, it's sales in the last two weeks in the country has plummeted to nearly zero.
"Our Sales has taken a massive hit not only in Malaysia but in other countries where we export our beer like Singapore. This is because news outlets and people on social media are spreading news that our beer has methanol," he said.
When asked if there are counterfeit kingfisher products in the market, he said that those products have been eliminated.
"The fake kingfisher beer has stopped for more than 8 months now, we can guarantee that it is original and there's no methanol in the beer. It is 100% safe to drink," he said.
Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said that out of the 37 deaths reported, 23 cases were in Selangor, 11 in Kuala Lumpur and three in Perak.
Based on nationality, the deaths comprised two Bangladeshis, two Indian nationals, 11 Myanmar nationals, eight Nepalese, 10 Malaysians and four others of unknown nationality.
Noor Hisham said the ministry had received 93 notifications of methanol poisoning cases from its health facilities.
He said of the total number of patients receiving treatment at hospitals, eight had been found to be stable were discharged.
Twenty-three patients are still receiving treatment at 12 hospitals around Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Perak and Negeri Sembilan. Of the 23, eight are critical cases, he said.