primary investigations showed that liquor produced by jiugui liquor co ltd might be tainted with plasticizer in the packaging procedure from plastic corks and tubes, according to xia xinguo, who is the general manager of the firm. xia mentioned only the packaging lines are poised while the manufacturing lines are still in operation. the scandal broke when a business news website www.21cbh.com published a report that one kind of jiugui liquor had 1.08 mg per kg of dibutyl phthalate, which is a type of plasticizer. the report derived an investigation by the food quality regulator of the tujiamiao. it is an autonomous prefecture of xiangxi, in hunan province, the same place where jiugui is also based. the investigation results found that, in jiugui liquor, the level of dbp was higher than the 0.3 mg per kg standard. 0.3 mg per kg is a provisional regulatory limit that is set in june 2011 by the ministry of health. the food quality regulator advised the liquor producer to determine the source of the plasticizer and ensure that other products were not contaminated. plasticizers are used for thickening liquids. however, according to the health experts, alcohol products do not need them. the chemicals can lead male reproductive problems and damage to the immune and digestive systems. this scandal sent jiugui&39s share prices dropping, and some of its products were removed from the shelves. this scandal has tumbled the shares of jiugui for three consecutive trading days by the daily limitation on the shenzhen stock exchange. since the scandal has erupted, most liquor companies have experienced their shares contract above 10 percent including hebei hengshui laobaigan liquor co and wuliangye yibin co. kweichow moutai co, which is the leastaffected company, has slumped by 3.3 percent. the china alcoholic beverage association mentioned, last week that extensive tests on china liquor indicated that nearly all alcohol products confined plasticizers. an average level for per kg was 0.537 mg. the level of plasticizers was more in highend liquor products than lowend ones. some industry spectators defended the liquor producers because there are no formal regulations or prescribed law on the quantity of plasticizers liquor products are permitted to contain. dai qi is an official of hunan provincial administration of quarantine, quality and inspection, mentioned the moh has not placed the provisional regulatory limit into the manufacturing standards for liquor products. hence, legally it is impossible to say whether jiugui contained "too much" amounts of the plasticizer. source of information httpwww.chinadaily.com.cnbusiness20121128content15965879.htm
