MORE than 200 bottles of potentially lethal counterfeit Glen’s Vodka have been seized.
But efforts to remove the fake booze have been hit by trading standards staff shortages, MSPs heard.
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Food Standards Scotland chiefs said it meant their four investigators has to cover the whole of Scotland.
They made 1,600 “targeted” visits after an initial haul of 40 bottles were confiscated in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire.
Deputy chief executive Ian McWatt said: “We had to step in because the local authority just could not find the resource available to respond.”
Fears were raised after a customer reported how a dodgy drink smelled like nail varnish remover. It was found to have poisonous chemical isopropyl.
It can cause stomach pain and vomiting and can be fatal in severe cases.
The agency said its probes were being hampered by lack of local council trading standards staff – meaning the pressure is on a national Food Standards Scotland team of just four investigators.
Ron McNaughton, who heads up the body’s crime and incidents unit, said: “We’ve had responses from 30 local authority areas, we’ve had 1,600 targeted visits of that.
“So far, we’ve recovered, I think it’s about 230 bottles of vodka – which isn’t a huge amount but it’s still significant, and the last recovery I think was a few weeks’ ago now.”
The alarm was raised in summer after a customer reported a 35cl bottle of vodka smelled like nail varnish remover.
Lab tests confirmed the bottles contained the chemical isopropyl – which can cause poisoning symptoms including stomach pain, vomiting and headaches and in severe cases, even death.
Mr McNaughton told a Holyrood justice committee meeting that most of the recoveries were made from eight local authorities in the central belt.
And Ian McWatt, deputy chief executive of FSS, said the organisation currently has four investigators, but that it relies on councils – who have trading standards officers – for help.
However, he said the financial strain on local government had led to problems. He said: “Had it not been for Food Standards Scotland officials actually willing to step in right at the start of this, we would have found in Glasgow a large haul of that vodka being sold to the consumer.
“We had to step in because the local authority just could not find the resource available to respond to that.”
Scots Tory MSP and leader Russell Findlay asked if the alcohol minimum unit pricing rise from 50p to 65p this month could fuel the problem of booze counterfeiting, Mr McNaughton said: “That has always been a concern. When minimum pricing for alcohol was introduced, there was always a concern that people in certain demographic groups might look for places where they could get cheap alcohol, including cheap vodka.”
A spokesperson for Glen’s Vodka owners, Loch Lomond Group, said: “Counterfeiting poses challenges for many major brands, but our absolute priority is the health and safety of the public which includes the many thousands of loyal Glen’s consumers who trust our brand.
“We’ve been working closely with Food Standards Scotland and other authorities from the outset to urgently tackle the current issue.
“There are very distinct differences between the markings on our packaging and those on the counterfeit bottles.
“Through Food Standards Scotland we have issued guidance on how consumers can identify that the product they have purchased is genuine.
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“If anyone has any concerns, they can find this and other information on next steps on the Food Standards Scotland website.
“Whilst this counterfeit product appears confined to a specific region and has not appeared on the wider market, it is crucial retailers uphold their responsibility to their customers by ensuring all purchases are made exclusively through recognised, licensed suppliers, safeguarding public health and the integrity of the marketplace.”
