Guinness has announced a “precautionary” recall of its recently launched non-alcoholic stout in Great Britain amid concerns of microbiological contamination in some cans.
Guinness said in a statement: “As a precautionary measure we are recalling Guinness 0.0 in Great Britain because of a microbiological contamination which may make some cans of Guinness 0.0 unsafe to consume.
“Guinness 0.0 currently is not on sale to the general public in Ireland. The issue is isolated to Guinness 0.0 and does not impact any other Guinness variants or brands.”
The company urged anyone with cans of Guinness 0.0 not to drink them.
Guinness 0.0 only hit supermarket shelves across the UK two weeks ago. It is not yet sold in pubs but was expected to be rolled out in spring 2021.
The firm said it is working with stores to remove all stock from shelves and is "working hard to investigate and determine the root cause" of the problem.
It added: "Production will only recommence when we are completely satisfied that we have eliminated the root cause of the issue and the product meets the highest standards of quality that we and our Guinness drinkers expect."
The product was developed in response to what Guinness said was growing consumer appetite for non-alcohol, lower-calorie beverages.
It was created at the landmark St James’s gate brewery in Dublin.
The early stages of the brewing process mirror those of standard Guinness, with the same main ingredients used – water, barley, hops and yeast.
The key difference in Guinness 0.0 is the use of cold filtration which is used to remove alcohol from the brew.
At its launch in October, Guinness insisted feedback from independent taste tests had exceeded expectations.
