The hangover from hell

A wee dram after a hard day at work could lead to severe abdominal pain, the UK Food Standards Agency claimed this week. The agency is warning people not to drink counterfeit Johnnie Walker Black Label whisky as it has been found to be contaminated with unacceptable levels of methanol. However, recognising a counterfeit bottle may be a challenge.

According to the FSA, methanol should not be present in the whisky at the levels it has been found and could cause serious harm. Effects of methanol poisoning include severe abdominal pain, drowsiness, dizziness, blurred vision leading to blindness and the risk of coma with breathing difficulties.

The symptoms of methanol poisoning can be delayed for several hours so anyone who has drunk this product may not be immediately aware of the dangers - much like a typical hangover.

Andrew Wadge, head of chemical safety and toxicology at the FSA, said: "We strongly advise people to check bottles that they may have at home to ensure that they have the genuine product. The counterfeit product should be avoided and anyone who thinks they may have drunk it within the last 24 hours should contact their doctor."​

So how can we identify the hoax product? Apparently the counterfeit bottles can be identified from genuine Johnnie Walker Black Label whisky by a number of subtle differences. The wording on the rear label is in Spanish, there is a fake lot code 'L04P24878342' printed on the rear of the front centre label, the word 'Distillers' in the Royal Warrant statement the counterfeit bottles' neck labels is incorrectly spelt as 'Distilleries', and the counterfeit bottles have no 'E mark' on their base between '700ml and 73mm'.

The FSA​ was alerted to the problem by the London Borough of Hackney after a member of the public made a complaint to UK drinks group Diageo, the distributors of Johnnie Walker Black Label. Diageo has confirmed that this is not a genuine product and that both the packaging and the liquid are counterfeit.