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| Brewguru's Beurre Biere products / Courtesy of GS Retail |
By Kim Jae-heun
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has filed a complaint with the police against GS Retail on charges of violating the country's food labeling laws, according to the ministry Thursday.
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| GS Retail CEO Huh Yeon-soo |
The MFDS argued that if a product wants to use "beurre" in its name, which means butter in French, it has to use butter in its manufacturing or processing system.
Brewguru, the manufacturer of Beurre Biere, is also suspended from producing the alcoholic beverage for a month from March 3.
"We borrowed the commonly used term (butter) to give a better understanding for consumers (about our product). Giving a nickname with a concept and characteristic to a product can easily be found in the retail business. It is not true at all that we used the term butter beer to deceive consumers deliberately," a GS Retail official said.
Brewguru is also protesting MFDS's decision, saying that no consumer really thinks butter beer includes real butter in it.
"If that is the logic, ginger ale should also use real ginger in it and the popular fire spicy chicken noodles should have chicken in it," a Brewguru official said. "We also made it clear on the product's nutrition facts label that it does not include real butter."
"We have been notified to suspend the manufacturing of Beurre Biere from March 3 and we will submit a written reply to protest the administrative measure," the official added.
The MFDS said Brewguru has to change the name of its beer product or else it will continue to be targeted with business suspensions.
Beurre Biere is currently sold at GS25 convenience stores and Hyundai Department Stores across the country.
