The retail world is seeing an alarming rise in counterfeit alcohol products turning up on the retail market. The World Health Organisation has reported that 25 per cent of the world's alcohol consumption is unrecorded.
The European Union Intellectual Property Office reported that last year alone the EU lost a total of $4.8 billion in sales due to the black-market sales of spirits and wine. Interpol and Europol have both reported seizing $390 million in counterfeit food and alcohol. Recently, the Mexican Police seized over 75,000 litres of counterfeit tequila destined for overseas resorts which contained dangerous levels of methanol.
Reports of deaths from the consumption of counterfeit alcohol are not uncommon. In Indonesia alone, it is estimated that 50 per cent of alcohol is counterfeit. With thousands of New Zealanders and Australians heading to the country each year it is not uncommon for travellers to report cases of alcohol poisoning.
