Domestic and overseas brewers who sell beer in China will be forced to limit the use of formaldehyde as an additive as a proposed amendment to hygienic standards for fermented alcoholic beverages may ban the sales of beers with high content of such chemical.

The China Alcoholic Drinks Industry Association, the country's trade body, said last week that the new hygienic standards are under discussion and would be released by the end of the summer.

Insiders say the amendment, which will be issued after the start of the beer season, was due to a whistle-blowing sales promotion by Shenzhen-based Kingway Brewer, which claimed that it was the first brewer not to use formaldehyde at all.

Tsingtao Beer, the country's most famous brewer, immediately jumped in, saying it had abandoned formaldehyde for years. Many domestic brewers followed suit, accusing Kingway of creating a storm in a beer mug.

While certain amounts of formaldehyde can cause cancer in humans, a small amount of the chemical does no harm to health, according to medical experts. Such additives can improve the colour of beer without affecting the flavour of hops, a key ingredient.

In addition to improving the visual quality, formaldehyde can also help greatly shorten the production period, which, in turn, reduces costs and increases volume for brewers.

Many domestic beer brewers have been using formaldehyde since the 1960s, especially in summer, said the association.

Moreover, it is also a common practice among foreign brewers because there is no international standard on the minimum content of the chemical in beverages and food, said Wang Yancai, director of the beer sector of the association.

Although, formaldehyde is a legal additive, few brewers will admit using it, insiders said.

"After SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) Chinese consumers are allergic to anything that may harm their health," said a domestic brewer who did not want to be named.

"It is not illegal for beer brewers to use formaldehyde as an additive. But considering the potential harm to the health of beer drinkers, the association will push domestic brewers to reduce the use of formaldehyde," Wang said. But he said it is difficult to totally ban the using of formaldehyde in a short period.

Wang also stressed that the micro-content of formaldehyde would not harm the health of beer drinkers.

"The new amendment on hygienic standards requires the content of formaldehyde to be less than two milligrams per liter. The contents of most domestic brand beer are below the minimum requirement and safe," Wang said.

According to a quality examination conducted by the State Food and Beverage Quality Supervision Centre in early 2002, the average content of formaldehyde of 19 domestic band beers was less than 0.31 milligram per liter.

(HK Edition 07/22/2003 page1)