Fireball Whisky was recalled and pulled from the shelves in northern Europe after authorities discovered the cinnamon-flavored hard stuff contained high levels of an ingredient found in antifreeze.
"It appears that we shipped our North American formula to Europe and found that one ingredient is out of compliance with European regulations," a Fireball spokeswoman
told The Daily Beast. "Finland, Sweden, and Norway have asked to recall those specific batches which is what we are doing."
Sales of the whisky have exploded in popularity in recent years, rising from roughly $2 million in sales in 2011 to $61 million in 2013 — surpassing Jameson whisky. And that's not even counting sales at bars.
Fireball makes two formulations of its popular whisky, one for the U.S. and Canada, and one for Europe. The North American formula contains higher levels of propylene glycol, which is used as a sweetener.
The European Union is generally more stringent in its chemical restrictions than the U.S., so when a batch of the North American formula made its way overseas, it was rejected.
"As I’m sure you are aware, Europe, as with many things, has different rules for product formulation," Amy Preske, a spokeswoman for Fireball's parent company, Sazerac,
told The Huffington Post. "Hence we have a different formula for Europe."
In the U.S., Fireball uses one-eighth of the FDA-approved amount of propylene glycol, she emphasized. Using even that small fraction is too much for European regulations, however.
According to the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry, "Propylene glycol is a Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) food additive that is widely used food and tobacco products, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics."
In antifreeze, "Propylene glycol is sometimes used as a de-icing agent; however, ethylene glycol is used more often because it costs less."
In general, the agency reports that toxicity has only been found "only rarely and in unusual circumstances" such as "excessively large or rapidly infused intravenous injections of propylene glycol-containing medications."
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