According to Profeco, three brands of mezcal contain less than what is declared on the label, while another brand does not meet the standard; it’s not mezcal.
The Federal Consumer Attorney’s Office ( Profeco ) carried out a laboratory study in which it will present the analysis of mezcal brands that are marketed in Mexico, and in whose result it found products with less alcohol, less product; as well as a brand that is not mezcal, so they will have to leave the market.
What is mezcal made of?
Mezcal is a drink that is obtained by distillation of the heart of the agave, of which there are many types and that take about 6 to 8 years to mature, but there are species that can even take up to 20.
The head of Profeco, Ricardo Sheffield Padilla, explained that in the Consumer Magazine that will come out in March, 36 brands of mezcal were analyzed, explaining the three types of mezcal there are, ancestral, artisanal and industrial. as well as the main agaves from which it is processed.“The most serious that we detected, that we are even going to take that one out of the market, is a very famous mezcal called
Gusano Rojo, does not meet the specifications of the official standard for making mezcal.
It’s not mezcal, it almost is, but no, because it doesn’t meet the standard. This one did go overboard… we started the proceedings against them, and it will end in a proceeding against
The Mezcal Regulatory Council for having authorized a product that does not comply, “he asserted.
Alcohol degrees and content
On the other hand, he explained that they detected four other brands of mezcal that gave less content than that declared on the label:
- Mezcal Amarás,
- Mezcales de Leyenda,
- Mezcal 1903 y
- Mezcal Alacrán.
“These four were giving less content than they should have, the bottle indicates the content, and it does not have that, it is up to 5 percent less, but it is above what is allowed as a margin of error. These will be sanctioned, ”he assured.
“We found three other brands of mezcal, this is an even more serious flaw, since all three had less alcohol than they should have,” he explained.
- Mezcal 1903
It claims to be 38 percent ABV, and it is actually 37.2 percent.
- Apaluz
It declares 40 percent alcohol and contains 38.6 percent.
- Kilometro 70
It states 40 and is 39 percent alcohol. “These must correct their alcohol content,” he said.
He explained that this last flaw in the mezcal brands is an issue in which there must be total accuracy of content. “Because these drops in the volume of alcohol and content reflect the little control that is had in production.”
