Warning issued over fake Smirnoff in Ireland

Health authorities in Ireland have warned consumers and bars to be vigilant after discovering bottles of counterfeit Smirnoff vodka.

Ireland’s health authority has issued a warning to pubs, retail outlets and consumers after the discovery of fake Smirnoff vodka

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) issued a warning to the on- and off-trade about the having identified a “small quantity of counterfeit Smirnoff Red Label vodka on the Irish market on sale in the retail and pub sectors”.

Consumers were also warned to not drink from any bottles of Smirnoff which appear inauthentic.

The “small amount” of counterfeit spirit was discovered following a tip-off from the UK’s Food Standard Agency.

Tests have not yet identified any “harmful” ingredients, yet the fake bottles were found to have lower alcohol levels than Smirnoff, showing an abv of 32% rather than the 37.5% in the genuine vodka, a brand owned by Diageo.

The fake bottles can be identified by labels which read “Produced in Ireland”, as labels of genuine products read “Produced in the United Kingdom”.

However, the FSAI added that, “if people have old product in their house that was purchased over 18 months ago that states ‘Produced in Ireland’ on the label, it will be legitimate”.

The quality of the labels on the fake bottles has also been described as “somewhat inferior compared to the genuine product”.

On the danger posed by the counterfeit Smirnoff, the FSAI said: “The analysis carried out to date on the counterfeit product has not identified specific food safety hazards.

“However, the source of the alcohol and where it is being produced or bottled is unknown and there may be contaminants in other batches.”

The illegal alcohol was found on sale in retail and pub sectors, but the FSAI declined to disclose the names of these establishments.