CRI听力:Jiugui Liquor Said to Use Excessive Plasticzers

According to Intertek China, an international third-party quality tester, three types of plasticizer, namely DEHP, DIBP and DBP, were found in the liquor sample they bought.

According to the test report, the amounts of DBP reached 1.08 milligrams per kilogram, 260 percent higher than the domestic industrial standard of 0.3 milligrams per kilogram, while the other two types did not exceed industrial standards.

Fan Zhen, vice president of Jiugui Liquor says it's still early to verify they samples used in the test are Jiugui Liquor's product. He also says he can't see the reason why anyone in the liquor industry would use plasticizer .

"The modern industry began to use plasticizer a few years ago. For thousands of years, China's liquor industry has never used plasticizer. Plus there is no proof that using plasticizer in liquor blending may improve its taste. That is to say the traditional Chinese liquor industry doesn't see any reason for using the plasticizer."

But Ran Lan, a security analyst for the liquor industry in an investment company says that it's not impossible plasticizer may enter the liquor via manufacturing, transportation or packaging process.

Ran says more efforts are needed to know the truth.

"The test organization, Intertek China is a commercial organization, so an organization with higher authority and qualifications is needed for further investigation. Plus, the media seems to feed public panic on the issue of food safety."

It can't be denied that this has become a public crisis not only for Jiugui Liquor but for all the listed Chinese liquor companies in the market.

Other liquor manufacturers also saw their shares slide, with valuation dropping the equivalent of nearly 33 billion yuan that's about US$5.3 billion on Dec 19. As a group, they were the biggest losers of the day.

Vice chief editor of Economy and Nation Weekly Ouyang Changzheng says plasticizer has not been previously included in the national liquor quality test. Ouyang said the incident is a reflection that the traditional passive inspection process is lagging behind the industry progress. Ouyang says it's highly recommended that the current inspection mechanism be changed and updated.

As for the doubts on speculating on Jiugui via short trading, analysts believe current figures and evidence show that isn't the case. But medium and small investors are advised to keep close eye on their money.

The plasticizers are mainly used in plastics, but recently some food producers have used them as a food additive in order to condense beverages, such as tea and fruit juice.

Consuming foods with excessive plasticizers over a long period would pose a definite health risk, since it can damage the human immune and digestive systems.

For CRI, I am Li Dong.