After a beer bottle was found, which was contaminated with cleaning solution, Franken Bräu a 50,000 hl brewery from Mitwitz, Germany had to recall 30,000 bottles from the market. The damage, according to brewery owner Rainer Mohr amounts to EUR 200,000 “notwithstanding the loss of image."
Two weeks ago, the bottle in question had been delivered by a consumer to the District Office in Forchheim. The authorities then visited the brewery and agreed on a "silent" recall of the production batch. However, one of the clients, a large German retailer, made the recall public.
The suspicion was expressed that the contaminated beer contained cleaning solution from a bottle washing machine of the brewery in Mitwitz. In order to confirm the suspicion, the contents of the bottle were examined in a laboratory and compared with the brewery's cleaning solution. Finally, the suspicion could not be substantiated.
"The final report now available has come to the conclusion that no link can be established between the sample complaint and the bottling plant in Mitwitz," announced the Kronach District Office on Wednesday.
The brewery owner suspects that someone has added lye to the sample handed in at the District Office in Forchheim in order to damage his brewery.
As soon as a complaint is filed, it will be up to the police to find the culprit.
