Beer brand Kingfisher says product uses natural ingredients, follows strict requirements

KUALA LUMPUR: International beer brand, Kingfisher beer, will submit a list of its product ingredients to the Health Ministry as part of an ongoing probe into suspected alcohol poisoning that has claimed the lives of more than 20 people.

This is despite the Health Ministry clarifying that the incident was caused by methanol poisoning, an ingredient not in Kingfisher beer.

Representing the brewer, Ultimate Branding Worldwide chief executive officer V. Shashikanth said that submitting the list shows the company's willingness to cooperate with authorities.

"We only use natural ingredients and follow strict requirements.

"We don't know how Kingfisher was implicated in the case but I can confirm we have nothing to do with it," he told a press conference here on Friday (Sept 21).

Thus, he said the company will submit the beer's list of ingredients and manufacturing process and cooperate with the authorities.

However, Shashikanth said the brewer acknowledged bootleg or counterfeit versions of Kingfisher have been sold in Malaysia.

"We detected this more than eight months ago.

"However, we have worked with authorities to curb the sales of the counterfeit beer.

"The sales of such beer has declined significantly," he said.

To differentiate the authentic and fake Kingfisher beer, he said the real ones have a less than 8% alcohol content and uses only natural ingredients.

"While the fake ones have some 11% alcohol content and taste very bad.

"The real ones have a manufacturing and expiry date along with a batch number while the fake ones only have an expiry date," he said.

Furthermore, Shashikanth said the authentic Kingfisher beer has a profile of a bucket on its ring pull can while the fake ones only has a loop.

"We have since brought the matter of counterfeit Kingfisher beer to the Malaysian High Court on Oct 19, 2017," he said.

The price of a carton of Kingfisher Beer is about RM200 while the fake ones are being sold at a significant lesser price, he added.

Kingfisher also exports to 69 countries for nearly 30 years, he added.

"We have never been accused of causing fatalities in any of the countries the beer are being sold in," he said.