Müllheim (dpa / lsw) – Because he sold a spirit unsuitable for human consumption, a distiller from Markgräflerland has to pay 1,200 euros to the district association for social justice. A hearing scheduled for next week at the district court in Müllheim (Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district) was canceled, as director Birgitta Stückrath announced on Thursday (April 21).
According to the public prosecutor’s office in Freiburg, food inspectors had found a significantly increased content of ethyl carbamate in the liquid. According to experts, the substance is considered to be probably carcinogenic. Although he was informed, the 33-year-old sold 46 liters of the offending spirits to another person last year, a spokesman said.
Mixed with raw spirits, it was sold to end consumers via an intermediary. The spokesman could not say whether anyone was injured. The authority had accused the man of intentionally placing unsafe food on the market.
Ethylcarbamat According to the Bavarian State Office for Health and Food Safety, large amounts can be found in stone fruit brandies. Under light and in connection with ethanol, hydrocyanic acid in stone fruit distillate turns into ethyl carbamate. “Amounts of this toxic substance can be formed that are many times (up to a thousand times) higher than the amounts that can be detected in other fermented foods,” says the authority.
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