Methanol-contaminated whisky: your questions answered

Methanol (wood alcohol) is a substance formed naturally during the production of many alcoholic drinks and, at the low levels normally present, is not harmful to health

Methanol should not be present in this product at the levels it has been found and could cause serious harm to someone drinking it.

Effects include severe abdominal pain, drowsiness, dizziness, blurred vision leading to blindness and the risk of coma with breathing difficulties.

Symptoms of methanol poisoning can be delayed for several hours so anyone who has drunk this product may not be immediately aware of the dangers.

The Agency is advising people not to drink this counterfeit product. All UK Local Authorities have been asked to ensure the product is not on sale in their area. If it is found, it will be removed from sale and destroyed.

Investigations as to the source or origin of this counterfeit product and distribution are continuing.

The distributors of Johnnie Walker Black Label whisky, Diageo Great Britain Ltd, have confirmed that this is not a genuine product. Both the label and liquid are counterfeit.

The counterfeit bottles can be identified from genuine Johnnie Walker Black Label whisky by a number of subtle differences.

These include:

• Spanish language on the rear label
• Fake lot code "L04P24878342" printed on the rear of the front centre label
• The word "Distillers" in the Royal Warrant statement the counterfeit bottles' neck labels is incorrectly spelt as "Distilleries"
• The counterfeit bottles have no "E mark" on their base between "700ml and 73mm"

The Agency strongly advised people not to drink this counterfeit product. If anyone has a bottle at home, or is unsure if it is a genuine product, they should contact the environmental health officers at their local authority.

Symptoms of methanol poisoning can be serious and may be delayed for several hours. Anyone who have thinks that they may have recently drunk this product (within the last 24 hours) should contact their doctor.