The withdrawal follows confirmation that batches of the US formulation of Fireball - which contains higher levels of the chemical propylene glycol than is permitted within the EU - were shipped to Europe.
Propylene glycol is used as a flavouring ingredient in food and drink but regulation of its use differs between the US and Europe.
The brand's UK distributor Hi-Spirits is overseeing the withdrawal on behalf of Fireball brand owner Sazerac. Initially, stockists are being asked to remove all SKUs of Fireball from sale and set the bottles aside for collection and return.
Hi-Spirits is to send out a form for stockists to complete to advise how many cases of Fireball they have in stock and where they can be collected from.
Setbacks
The product withdrawal is the latest in a series of setbacks for the brand.
Last year, the company fell foul of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which found ads for the brand in breach of its code on three separate occasions.
In May, the brand’s Facebook page was found to show “alcohol being handled irresponsibly,” and to glorify the consumption of large amount of alcohol, according to the watchdog. The following September, it also got rapped for a brochure featuring a photo of someone holding a sign that said, “The hotter you are, the faster I come,” which was in breach of the ASA code.
Regret
Jeremy Hill, chairman of Hi-Spirits said: “On behalf of Sazerac, we sincerely apologise to all Fireball stockists and their customers. We have been working for the past few days with a public analyst and the FSA to ascertain which recipe had been shipped to the UK market, and regretfully, we have now been informed that a withdrawal is necessary.
“We deeply regret the inconvenience to our customers, particularly as we approach the busiest time of year for spirit sales, and we are committed to making sure the collection process, and in due course replacement with new stock, is undertaken efficiently and with the minimum of disruption.”
An online Q&A for stockists is available here.