Formaldehyde content in Chinese beer low: industry assocation

The formaldehyde content in one liter of Chinese beer is lower than that in one kilogram of poultry, thus Chinese beer is safe to drink, said a report released by the China Brewing Industry Association Thursday.

In response to recent media reports that Chinese beer contains high levels of formaldehyde, the beer branch of the association Thursday released a report citing statistics from the China Food Quality Supervision and Inspection Center, a testing agency.

"One liter of Chinese beer contains 0.3 milligram of formaldehyde on average, while each kilogram of foods, including poultry, fish and fruits, contains between 0.5 to 30 milligrams of formaldehyde, higher than that in Chinese beer," the report said.

There is no significant difference between different brands of Chinese beer, according to the testing agency.

The World Health Center has set the upper limit of formaldehyde content in bottled drinks at 0.9 milligram per liter, a level higher than that in Chinese beer, the report said.

Source: Xinhua