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“National
Liquor”: Bottles of Moutai baijiu on sale at a supermarket in Xuchang, China.
Baijiu is a popular Chinese liquor distilled from fermented sorghum and rice.
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Chinese police are
investigating if two distillers in the southwestern region of Guangxi added
impotence treatment drug Viagra to their liquor in the latest food-safety scare
in China. The
Liuzhou Food and Drug Administration said that it found the Guikun Alcohol
Plant and the Deshun Alcohol Plant in Guangxi's Liuzhou city were putting
Sildenafil, more commonly known as Viagra, into three of their baijiu products. Baijiu
is a fiery grain liquor that commands high prices in China.
Reuters report continues:
Law
enforcement officers have confiscated 5,357 bottles of the suspect products,
1,124 kg of raw alcohol and a batch of white powder labeled Sildenafil, in a
case worth more than 700,000 yuan (US$112,726), according to a statement posted
by the Liuzhou Food and Drug Administration on its website on Saturday.
The
case has been transferred to the police, the statement said.
The
products were all marketed as having health-preserving qualities, it said.
Food
safety is a chronic problem in China and public anxiety over cases of fake or
toxic food often spreads quickly.
In
June, state media said Chinese customs have seized around 3 billion yuan (US$483
million) worth of smuggled meat, some more than 40 years old and rotting, the
latest in a grim series of food safety scares.
In
2013, Chinese police said they broken a crime ring that passed off more than US$1
million in rat and small mammal meat as mutton.
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