Fireball Cinnamon Whisky was recalled in Europe last week for containing traces of a chemical found in antifreeze, but the announcement hasn’t frozen local sales.
The ABC Fine Wine & Spirits on Southwest Archer Road sells about 10 to 15 cases of the cinnamon whiskey per week, said manager Charles Fleenor, and even after news broke of the whiskey’s use of propylene glycol, he said he hasn’t seen sales dip.
“That’s just on an average week,” he said. “That’s not even including when we have home games.”
Fleenor said the store typically sells about five or six cases of Jägermeister and about 12 cases of Jack Daniel’s whiskey per week in comparison, but Fireball appeals to a younger crowd.
“When everyone found out it was in Europe, they kind of chilled a little bit,” he said. “If it had been recalled here, trust me, there’s no way we would still have it on the shelf.”
According to Fireball’s website, a shipment intended for North America was accidentally sent to Europe, which does not allow more than 1 gram per kilogram of propylene glycol in the whiskey. Fireball recalled the wrongly delivered batches and plans to have the correct batches back on European shelves within three weeks.
Andrew Pentland of Gator Beverage Inc. said the local liquor store on the corner of West University Avenue and 12th Street hasn’t seen a drop in Fireball sales either.
“When I first heard about it, my thought was that people would definitely say something about it, even if they were still going to buy it,” the 22-year-old said. “But I haven’t heard any customers mention it.”
According to the Food and Drug Administration’s website, propylene glycol can be ingested over a long period of time in large quantities without causing health hazards. The chemical is actually common and found as an additive in a variety of food items, including salad dressing, ice cream and beer.
Yet, while the FDA recognizes the chemical as safe, UF senior James Martingano said people should proceed with caution.
“When something says FDA-approved, it’s not immediately like, ‘Oh, OK, this is a good item to put into something you consume,’” the 21-year-old psychology student said.
Dylan Sobien, a 28-year-old food and resource economics senior, said the media is partly to blame for the sensationalism.
“I feel like people like to blow it out of proportion,” he said.
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 11/1/2014]
