Heineken Issues Voluntary Recall of Mexican Beers

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Heineken USA is voluntarily recalling several products and packages in certain states after finding a defect in the 12-ounce brown bottles used in certain batches of Carta Blanca and Dos Equis Ambar.

The beers affected are available in six-packs and 12-packs, as well as in the "Beers of Mexico" and "Best of Mexico" pack varieties. Indio 12-ounce bottles, which are only featured in the "Best of Mexico" pack (available solely in Texas), are also affected, according to the company.

Dos Equis Lager green bottles and draught, Dos Equis Ambar draught, Tecate and Carta Blanca 32-ounce bottles are not impacted, nor are any other Heineken USA brands, the brewer added.

"Our passion is to consistently deliver high-quality beer to our consumers, whose health and safety is our first priority," said Dolf van den Brink, president and CEO of Heineken USA. "We deeply regret this incident and are doing everything possible to resolve it quickly, so that our consumers can continue to enjoy these products. We want every experience with one of our products to be flawless."

The bottles in question were produced by a third-party supplier and the defect was detected through Heineken's routine quality inspections. With the defect, there is the potential for small grains or particles of glass to separate from the inside lip of the bottle and fall into the liquid. The pieces may vary in size and some may not be easily visible, the company explained.

Heineken believes the number of affected bottles is less than 1 percent; however, it made the decision to voluntarily recall certain batches of products as a precautionary measure. There have not been any reports of consumer injuries, and the likelihood of a possible injury is very low, the supplier added.

The affected products include Carta Blanca 12-ounce brown bottles in six-packs and 12-packs; Dos Equis Ambar 12-ounce brown bottles in six-packs and 12-packs; "Best of Mexico" 12-pack variety package (which contains the impacted Dos Equis Ambar brown bottle and Indio 12-ounce bottles; this pack is sold only in Texas); and "Beers of Mexico" 12-pack and 24-pack variety packages (which contains the impacted Dos Equis Ambar brown bottle).